Between Social Movements and Political Apathy

New PRIF Report analyzes youth and democracy in times of Corona

Demonstration von Fridays for Future Frankfurt am 24.9.2021 zur Bundestagswahl unter dem Motto „Wir haben keine Wahl“. © Protestfotografie.Frankfurt

Demonstration von Fridays for Future Frankfurt am 24.9.2021 zur Bundestagswahl unter dem Motto „Wir haben keine Wahl“. © Protestfotografie.Frankfurt

How did young people experience the Corona pandemic in Germany, and how did this experience in­fluence their relation­ship to democracy and political partici­pation? In the new PRIF Report, Darius Reinhardt, Hannah Friedrich and Daniel Mullis evaluate various recent youth studies and relate them to current debates about the crisis of represen­tative demo­cracy. In doing so, they show that among many young people, feelings of political ex­clusion and frustration with established democratic processes have continued to grow. This is highly proble­matic. If these developments are not put to an end, there is a threat of the erosion of democratic society. Based on their analyses, the authors develop recommen­dations on how the democratic inte­gration of tomorrow's adults can succeed.

Darius Reinhardt studies political theory and is working as a student assistant on the project Everyday Political Subjectification and the Rise of Regressive Politics. Downward mobility, urbanization and the production of space in Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig. Hannah Friedrich is studying for a Master's degree in Political Science at the University of Freiburg. 

To the publication (in German): Reinhardt, Darius/Friedrich, Hannah/Mullis, Daniel (2022): Fragiles Vertrauen – Zwischen sozialen Bewegungen und Politikverdrossenheit. Jugend und Demokratie in Zeiten der Corona-Krise, PRIF Report 5/2022.