Aims to establish how young people understand and live politics, using innovative research methods. This book concludes that young people are alienated, rather than apathetic, and that their interests and concerns are addressed within mainstream political institutions.

Most studies of political participation among young people focus on formal political arenas and conclude that young people are politically apathetic. In contrast, this book aims to establish how young people understand and live politics, using innovative research methods. As such, it treats age, class, gender and ethnicity as political 'lived experiences'. It concludes that young people are alienated, rather than apathetic, and that their interests and concerns are rarely addressed within mainstream political institutions.

Introduction - The Study of Political Participation - The Context and Consequence of Political Participation - Methodology - The Politics of Youth - Class as a Lived Experience - Gender and Participation - Young People and the Politics of 'Race', Ethnicity and Identity - Conclusion