[Feature: Sovereigns and Public Opinion] Noriko Suzuki: The Future of Political Participation for EU Citizens—Prospects Beyond Populism and the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021/10/05

In Japan, the first national election in which citizens aged 18 and older could vote began with the House of Councillors election in July 2016. Since 18-year-olds include high school students, the government and ruling parties emphasized the need for "sovereign education" and distributed a supplementary textbook to students titled "The Future of Japan We Create: To Acquire the Skills Required as Voters." Around this time, terms such as "sovereign education" and "citizenship education" began to gain attention.

Having conducted school surveys on citizenship education initiatives in France, I have been interested in how this education is approached in Japan. However, most university students respond that they have no memory of receiving lessons related to sovereign education.

However, it is not that they are uninterested in politics. For example, in a 2021 class (for 3rd and 4th-year students), we discussed the causes of the decline in youth voter turnout. Opinions emerged such as, "Life has become affluent, and dissatisfaction with society has disappeared," or "There is a weak sense among young people that they can change society through voting," which might be why they do not feel inclined to vote. As for countermeasures, opinions included, "It is necessary to create an atmosphere where politics belongs to everyone and anyone can talk about it," and that improvements could be made through "cooperation from parents and adults, not just youth, to foster interest in politics on a daily basis" and "collaboration with the local community." There was also an idea that "installing polling stations at universities" might increase the number of young voters. I feel strongly that rather than just lamenting the "alienation of youth from politics," it is important to proactively provide opportunities for them to think, as B. Crick of the UK also emphasized.

In Japan, attention is focused on citizenship education in the UK, where the Crick Report was issued, but in fact, this education spread across Europe from the mid-1990s onward. In Central and Eastern European countries, where new governments were formed through democratization movements and aimed for EU (European Union) membership, the Council of Europe took the lead in introducing the content and practice of democratic education and training teachers to support democratization *1.

Even in France, which pioneered the creation of a public education system and introduced civic education in the 1880s, citizenship education was introduced in 1994 to "revive" and further "reactivate" civic education in response to changes in social conditions. This education centers on civic subjects where students learn about national systems, rights, freedoms, equality, and the concept of democracy. It also involves activities to develop students as citizens by incorporating these concepts into other subjects and extracurricular activities such as class meetings, with students, faculty, and principals working together as members of a single school community.

However, although a quarter-century has passed since these efforts began, they have not necessarily led to youth participation in elections. Like Japan, France is struggling with declining youth voter turnout. In France, presidential elections attract interest because of the direct election system, but voter turnout has been declining since the 2000s. The presidential election held in May 2017 recorded the highest-ever abstention rate of 25%, with 34% of those aged 18–24 abstaining.

In the municipal council elections held on March 15, 2020, just as the number of COVID-19 infections began to rise, the turnout for the first round of voting was 44.6%, a decrease of about 19% from the previous election. In the second round, which was postponed to the end of June due to the lockdown caused by the spread of infection, it dropped further to 34.6% (a 27.4% decrease compared to the previous election). Notably, a staggering 72% of voters aged 18–34 abstained. Thus, it is clear that the number of people going to polling stations significantly decreased during the pandemic elections.

The fact that voter turnout among those under 35 is lower than that of older generations means that the votes of young people, who must carry the future of the country, are being marginalized. Consequently, politicians have begun to communicate through social media, which young people use frequently.

Voting is an important form of political participation. Since every citizen has one equal vote, it guarantees universal political participation. Of course, many other forms of political participation exist, and people can raise their voices. However, in European representative democracy, elections are the only form that allows for the political participation of a large number of people. Therefore, if individual citizens do not participate in elections, democracy will cease to function *2.

Is the low voter turnout among young people really an expression of indifference to politics? In response to the point about "youth alienation from politics," Muxel states that "young people are not apolitical" *3. According to her, because the social and political situation is significantly different from what older generations experienced, they are simply rejecting political parties and labor unions—traditionally seen as means of political activity—and adopting different political attitudes, such as engaging in spontaneous interventions like active demonstrations.

According to Le Figaro Étudiant (December 9, 2015), "young people are shunning traditional political participation." Nearly half of young people have participated in an online petition or a demonstration in the past year, and half of young people are active in or planning to join an association. This indicates that young people are not indifferent to politics; rather, they are distancing themselves from "traditional political participation" such as voting and party activities. Instead, new forms of political participation, such as association activities, online petition movements, and participation in demonstrations, are advancing. These changes are not a phenomenon unique to France.

Lister and Pia (2008) point out "a paradox" where "electoral participation continues to decline overall, yet interest in politics is increasing" (p. 85). According to them, comparing voter turnout in national parliamentary elections held from 1960 to 2006 in seven European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK), there are differences between countries in the 80–90% range (Denmark, Sweden, Germany) and those in the 60–80% range (France, UK), but overall voter turnout is declining. Similarly, regarding European Parliament elections held from 1979 to 2004, voter turnout has declined overall and was lower than in national parliamentary elections.

This trend is common across all member states. Between 1979 and the 2014 European Parliament elections, the EU increased its member states from 9 to 28, but the average voter turnout across member states fell from 61% to 42% (Figure 1).

On the other hand, the percentage of people interested in politics is increasing. Based on the results of the "World Values Survey," Lister and Pia point out that in the surveyed countries mentioned on the right, the percentage of people participating in "informal" political participation—such as petition movements, boycotts, legal demonstrations, and building occupations—rather than "formal" political participation like voting, is increasing. "Informal" political participation other than voting varies by country: petition activities are common in Denmark, the Netherlands, and the UK; participation in petitions and boycotts is common in Sweden; participation in demonstrations and building occupations is common in France; and participation in demonstrations and petitions is common in Germany. Thus, "informal" political participation is diverse and reflects differences in European political cultures.

In Sweden, Greta Thunberg, then 14 years old, began a "School Strike for Climate" by sitting in front of the Parliament building on Fridays before the August 2018 general election to appeal to adults about climate issues. The "Yellow Vest movement" that occurred in France was triggered by citizens launching an online petition for lower fuel prices in May 2018. Support for the protest spread on social media, and calls were made for protest activities involving blocking roads across France with barricades while wearing the yellow vests used for driver safety. By November, it became a protest activity with about 300,000 participants across France, and subsequently, demonstrations were organized every Saturday, with many people, including youth, participating. Their protest activities are a form of political participation born from the political culture of their country.

Why do young Europeans choose "informal" political participation other than voting?

According to the report "Democracy Put to the Test by Youth: A Political Generation (Renewal)?" released in March 2021 by the National Institute for Youth and Community Education (INJEP) of the French Ministry of National Education and Youth, the "European Values Study," conducted approximately every 10 years since 1981, shows not only shifts in the relationship with democracy across generations over these 40 years but also that the causes of these changes can be understood by integrating them into the system of citizen values. The fifth survey in 2018 shows that the younger generation in France feels that the democratic system has failed to eliminate inequality or respond to the risk of deteriorating living conditions, leading to growing distrust in the system.

Looking closely, 94% of those aged 18–29 support the democratic system (up 6 points from the previous survey), but at the same time, 58% favor non-democratic systems. The breakdown was: (1) 58% (up 8 points) want decisions made by experts rather than the government; (2) 23% (no change) want a strong leader even if they are not a member of parliament; and (3) 18% (up 8 points) want a military regime. In particular, regarding (1) and (3), the figures were 10 points and 5 points higher, respectively, than the average for all generations.

This tendency to favor non-democratic political systems is already manifesting as a situation that regresses or transforms democracy, such as the rise of populist politicians worldwide and support for governments that strengthen authoritarianism *4. Why do young people express such contradictory ideas about democracy? According to the INJEP report, critical young people within the democratic system demand the correction of disparities and equality, but because these demands are not met under economic crises, it affects their trust in politicians and democratic functions. Thus, distrust in democratic institutions is not limited to a feeling of political regression but leads to an expression of seeking a state that intervenes more in the social security field to equalize living conditions.

In other words, in Europe, where the economic crisis following the 2008 Lehman Shock continues to be severe, the gap between rich and poor is widening and the number of socially vulnerable people is increasing. Citizens feel resentment and disappointment toward governments that cannot handle this situation. In particular, young people who have grown up during this crisis are increasing their distrust of the representative democracy that supports a political system that cannot cope effectively, and they have a strong desire for a new, different kind of democracy. This is expressed among young people through "informal" political participation such as participation in petitions, demonstrations, and boycotts.

An interesting point is that young people are positively expressing the value of altruism—being close to others. This overlaps with Muxel's point that while today's youth are generally distrustful because they have only known political, social, and economic crises, service activities based on humanitarianism, peacekeeping, and civic spirit are growing dramatically. Their service activities are characterized by loose norms and being practical, but they involve temporary rather than constant participation, and are rooted locally while being connected to the world.

Such "informal" political participation by youth began to attract attention with the 2011 "Occupy Wall Street" protests against inequality, but prior to that, in Spain, a civic movement called "The Indignants" (Los Indignados), reacting to political corruption, had intensified demonstration activities. They formed the political group "Podemos" and entered the political arena. Greta Thunberg's weekly Friday school strikes spread on social media as "Fridays for Future," and six months later, it became a demonstration in which more than one million students in 125 countries participated. Other recent examples include "#BlackLivesMatter" protesting violence against Black people and the "#MeToo" movement protesting discrimination against women; political activities based on the civic spirit of youth are spreading and developing worldwide via social media.

Political activities by European youth regarding environmental measures are beginning to influence real-world politics. In the European Parliament elections held in EU member states at the end of May 2019, environmental parties significantly increased their seats, particularly in Germany and France. Furthermore, it was noted that voter turnout exceeded 50% for the first time in 20 years (Figure 1).

The correlation between the surge of environmental parties and the increase in voter turnout has been pointed out as being due to many young people voting. According to a France Culture broadcast immediately after the election (June 6), the fact that 39% of voters aged 18–24 (up 15% from the previous election) and 40% of those aged 25–34 (up 10%) voted was cited as a factor that pushed the vote share for environmental parties to 25%.

From this, it can be inferred that young people have not given up on participating in "formal" politics either; if there is a party they want to vote for that matches their political consciousness, they will cast a vote.

Note that before the election, there were concerns about the rise of Euroskeptics, who had taken the top spot in various parts of Europe, mainly in France and the UK, in the 2014 European Parliament elections, but they did not increase their seats significantly. What will happen to the movements of Euroskeptics and populist politicians in the future?

The spread of the new coronavirus, which began to permeate the world in 2020, still shows no signs of subsiding. Moreover, since I cannot travel to Europe during the pandemic, I cannot conduct on-site research on the political participation of EU citizens. Therefore, it is difficult to answer the editorial department's question regarding "prospects beyond the COVID-19 pandemic." Thus, I would like to refer to correspondence from residents in Europe.

According to Yoko Tawada, a writer living in Berlin, populists are losing a significant number of supporters during the pandemic. The background seems to be that more people are trusting newspapers and state-run broadcasts rather than social media, which is the arena for populist activity (Asahi Shimbun, April 14, 2020).

The "Alternative for Germany (AfD)," which surged to become the third-largest party in the 2017 German federal election and won 94 seats in the Bundestag for the first time, also made great strides in eastern Germany in the 2019 state elections, winning as much as 27.5% of the vote in Saxony. However, in a 2020 opinion poll, its support rate plummeted to the 9% range, and there are reports that "the pandemic has dented the popularity of Germany's far-right AfD party" (NPR, December 29, 2020). In an opinion poll announced on August 20, 2021, the "Union" of Chancellor Merkel's CDU/CSU was at 23%, the Social Democratic Party at 21%, the Green Party at 17%, and the Free Democratic Party at 13%, while support for the AfD remained in fifth place at 11%. Attention is focused on the outcome of the general election this September, when Chancellor Merkel will retire, but since Chancellor Merkel's ruling party won the state election in June by suppressing the AfD, a ruling party victory is also expected in the general election (BBC News, June 7, 2021).

Furthermore, according to Tawada (Asahi Shimbun, May 24, 2021), in Berlin, while legal restrictions are placed on individual lives such as movement restrictions and curfews due to the lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the right to demonstrate is not prohibited. There is no problem if one applies in advance and walks while wearing a mask and maintaining distance; Tawada herself reportedly participated in an anti-nuclear demonstration. The high participation in demonstrations in Germany mentioned earlier is likely due to this background. I would like to emphasize that political culture is being respected even during the pandemic.

Finally, from the political participation in Europe introduced in this article, while the rise in the abstention rate among youth is certainly a problem for representative democracy, "informal" political participation by youth is attracting attention as a new form of participation in democracy. It should not be viewed pessimistically, but rather re-evaluated as an expression of their style of political interest.

*1 Noriko Suzuki (2013) "The French Republic and the Education of Citizens," in Takahiro Kondo (ed.), Citizenship Education in Integrated Europe (Nagoya University Press), pp. 103–119.

*2 Michael Lister, Emily Pia (2008). Citizenship in contemporary Europe. Edinburgh University Press, pp. 80-106.

*3 Anne Muxel (2003). "Les jeunes et la politique: entre héritage et renouvellement", Empan, 2003/2, no50, pp. 62-67.

*4 For example, please refer to Takeshi Kawanaka (ed.) (2018), Retreating Democracy, Strengthening Authoritarianism (Minerva Shobo).