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The Political Participation of Africa's Youth: Turnout, Partisanship, and Protest

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  • Danielle Resnick
  • Daniela Casale

Abstract

The youth have long represented an important constituency for electoral mobilization in Africa. Today, as the region faces a growing 'youth bulge' that is disproportionately burdened by un- and underemployment, capturing the votes of this demographic is becoming more important than ever before. Yet, despite their numerical importance and the historical relevance of generational identities within the region, very little is really known about the political participation of Africa's youth.

Suggested Citation

  • Danielle Resnick & Daniela Casale, 2011. "The Political Participation of Africa's Youth: Turnout, Partisanship, and Protest," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2011-056, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2011-056
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2011-056.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. García-Peñalosa, Cecilia & Konte, Maty, 2014. "Why Are Women Less Democratic Than Men? Evidence from Sub-Saharan African Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 104-119.
    3. Maty Konte & Stephan Klasen, 2016. "Gender difference in support for Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa: Do social institutions matter?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 55-86, April.
    4. Praneeta Mudaliar & Meaghan McElroy & Jacob C. Brenner, 2022. "The futility and fatality of incremental action: motivations and barriers among undergraduates for environmental action that matters," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 12(1), pages 133-148, March.
    5. Enongene Rex Nkumbe & Ebote Esteline Nkumbe, 2024. "The Anglophone Crisis and Low Voter Turnout in Anglophone Cameroon in the 2018 Presidential Elections," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(9), pages 1705-1712, September.
    6. Conroy-Krutz, Jeffrey, 2018. "Media exposure and political participation in a transitional African context," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 224-242.
    7. Nwankwo Cletus Famous, 2019. "Determinants of voter turnout in Nsukka Council of Enugu State, South Eastern Nigeria," Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, Sciendo, vol. 45(45), pages 109-124, September.
    8. Eugene Emeka Dim & Markus H Schafer & Jessica A Kelley, 2024. "Age, Political Participation, and Political Context in Africa," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 79(6), pages 47-100.
    9. Breuer, Anita & Asiedu, Edward, 2017. "Can Gender-Targeted Employment Interventions Help Enhance Community Participation? Evidence from Urban Togo," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 390-407.
    10. Grace Ogechukwu Ugwonna & Samuel Agozie Ezeudu & Okechukwu Onyinye Nwaubani & Anthonia N. Utoh-Ofong & Obiageli Calista Onyeanusi & Patricia Nwamaka Aroh & Samuel Okechukwu Ome & Luke Chizoba Ezema & , 2020. "Gender differentials in the Use of Instructional Models in Enhancing Adolescents’ Interest and Achievement in Voter Education Contents of Senior Secondary School Government Curriculum," Global Journal of Health Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(5), pages 121-121, May.

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    Keywords

    Democracy; Unemployment; Voting;
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