Young people’s support and perceptions of political parties in 38 countries: An international comparison based on ICCS 2009

Over the past decades it has been claimed that young people have become less engaged in political parties and that youth sections of political parties are declining. However, there is little comparative international evidence about the extent to which students in junior secondary school form preferences for political parties and intend to align with parties as adults. The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS 2009) focused on the civic knowledge and attitudes to aspects of citizenship (attitudes, values, behaviours and intended behaviours) in 38 countries. It generated information from large representative samples of students in their eighth year of schooling. The ICCS survey gathered data from students about their attachment to a particular party and its strength to measure their support for political parties. In addition the survey measured students’ views about the importance of joining a political party as an aspect of citizenship, their trust in political parties; and their expectation to join a political party in the future. This paper reports on the variation among countries in their support and perceptions of political parties as well as the extent to which students expect to join a political party. It reviews to what extent these results correspond to indicators at the national level and also investigates which background and affective-behavioural factors explain students’ commitment to a political party.