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Young Voters, Declining Trust and the Limits of “Service Politics”

Young Voters, Declining Trust and the Limits of “Service Politics” IntroductionFor most Americans, cynicism and distrust are bound with perceptions of government’s performance. Forged in the caldron of radio talk shows, 24-h cable news programs, blogs, tweets, and an array of media-based partisan cues, these perceptions are negative and usually rest on the behavior of the opposing party. Government is failing because the other party is crazy and reckless. As such, declining levels of trust have been linked to higher levels of political engagement and partisan polarization. The most distrustful are often the most partisan and engaged.Something different is occurring with young Americans. Trust is also linked to perceptions of government’s performance, but because this group pays less attention to the news, the broader “system” is to blame. The outcome has been their withdrawal from the traditional modes of activism. Even after the boom year of 2008 and the Obama net-root phenomena, election turnout for those under 30 has reached record lows. Their abstention stems from a distress over the government’s inability to act. Young citizens are exasperated over a system they see as mired in gridlock and partisan wrangling. Rather than completely exit the public realm, however, they have turned to low cost on-line political activism and community http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Forum de Gruyter

Young Voters, Declining Trust and the Limits of “Service Politics”

The Forum , Volume 13 (3): 21 – Oct 1, 2015

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References (90)

Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
©2015 by De Gruyter
ISSN
1540-8884
eISSN
1540-8884
DOI
10.1515/for-2015-0036
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

IntroductionFor most Americans, cynicism and distrust are bound with perceptions of government’s performance. Forged in the caldron of radio talk shows, 24-h cable news programs, blogs, tweets, and an array of media-based partisan cues, these perceptions are negative and usually rest on the behavior of the opposing party. Government is failing because the other party is crazy and reckless. As such, declining levels of trust have been linked to higher levels of political engagement and partisan polarization. The most distrustful are often the most partisan and engaged.Something different is occurring with young Americans. Trust is also linked to perceptions of government’s performance, but because this group pays less attention to the news, the broader “system” is to blame. The outcome has been their withdrawal from the traditional modes of activism. Even after the boom year of 2008 and the Obama net-root phenomena, election turnout for those under 30 has reached record lows. Their abstention stems from a distress over the government’s inability to act. Young citizens are exasperated over a system they see as mired in gridlock and partisan wrangling. Rather than completely exit the public realm, however, they have turned to low cost on-line political activism and community

Journal

The Forumde Gruyter

Published: Oct 1, 2015

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