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Political socialization and influence at the mercy of politicians

A study of a local participation project amongst young people in Norway

Guro Ødegård is a researcher at the Norwegian Social Research (NOVA), and a member of the Youth Research Group. She is working on her doctoral thesis with the theme Youths’ experiences of power and influence in political structures. She has previously conducted research on voluntary youth organizations, local youth councils, and young people's political participation. She also co–edited a book about power and influence among youth, which is one of the publications from the Power and Democracy project (1998–2003). Address: NOVA, Box 3223, Elisenberg, 0208 Oslo, Norway. [email: god{at}nova.no]

This article explores the following research questions: do local participation projects, such as youth councils, have a socializing effect on young people's political awareness; and do the young people involved attain power and influence in the local political field? The earliest and widely acknowledged political participation project among young people in Norway — the Porsgrunn Model — is used as a case study. This study includes two surveys supplemented by qualitative material. Based on a theoretical framework related to political socialization, democracy and political influence, the author discusses the status of youth councils in general and the Porsgrunn Model in particular. The findings imply that the local participation projects do not have an effect on young people's political awareness in general. However, young people who are directly involved in the participation process have a higher degree of political awareness than those who are outside this process. It is argued that this may be a cumulative effect where young people who are already politically active are also attracted to these structures. Furthermore, the author claims that these youth councils occupy an unclear position in the democratic process, which leaves the young people's possibilities to attain political influence at the mercy of politicians. Their ‘potential power’ seems to be valuable only if they operate in an ‘elite–directed way’, when the formal political rules, norms and communicative competence are used.

Key Words: political involvement • local participation • democracy • power and influence • young people • Norway

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