This thesis extends our understanding of a ‘puzzle of participation’ (Brody 1978). Across
established Western democracies, turnout in elections has been steadily falling - at the
same time, society is modernising. Central to this latter phenomenon is educational
expansion, a process in which there is increased higher education (HE) enrolment, rising
attainment levels, and even wider citizenship education. Under classic civic education
hypotheses, such factors are anticipated to increase political literacy, raise electoral
interest, and provide encouraging environments for political participation. Hence, the
patterns we observe in turnout present as paradoxical. This is especially evident among
the very youngest electors, who comprise arguably the most educated generation yet but
are also the least likely to vote. The thesis thus poses the question: Why is the
comparatively higher level of education enjoyed by young people today not associated with
a higher level of voter turnout?
My response takes inspiration from Norris’s ‘critical citizens’ (1999, 2011) and combines
this with repertoire replacement (Dalton 2008; Norris 2003) and sorting model (Nie et
al 1996) theories to develop an argument based on a multiplicity of education effects on
turnout. Specifically, I present a thesis which contends that higher levels of education
today encourage the emergence of a non-voting disaffected citizenry, characterised by
two distinct dimensions. The first, a dissatisfied-disaffection is thought to be present
among growing student populations. It is this demographic group which, in response to
its members’ HE experiences, is challenging established political processes, becoming
more demanding of an active role in politics, and turning to alternative participation
activities when opportunities arise. Within this I posit two non-voter types: (a)
frustrated electors, committed to voting yet exasperated by the responsiveness of
political actors and their policy offers at elections, and (b) engaged activists, pointedly
rejecting voting in favour of more direct and ongoing influencing activities. The second
dimension reflects alienated-disaffection. Here, individuals who lack HE experience are
seeing their status and position decline in line with educational inflation, and, as a
consequence, experience limited political network mobilisation, find their confidence for
participation falling, and so withdraw from politics altogether. They are marginalised
citizens. Meanwhile, a number of young people will continue to vote, receiving
encouragement from their social networks and partisan attachments; mobilised voters.
This thesis makes its contributions in testing and refining these propositions in the case
of the British electorate using data from the British Election Study, British Participation
Survey, and the Citizens in Transition Survey. Through a range of statistical techniques
(including logistic regression, latent class analysis, and structural equation modelling) I
devise new ways of operationalising disaffection, and assess its varied impact on turnout.
This thesis progresses to explore typologies of participation repertoires, within which
combinations of disaffection attitudes and turnout behaviours exist. It then examines in
more detail the educational mechanisms through which these occur
