YOUTH POLITICAL ALIENATION IN DEVELOPING DEMOCRACIES: UNDERSTANDING WHY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE INCREASINGLY DISTRUSTFUL OF POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

In many parts of the developing world, a worrisome trend has been taking place: young people – the very cohort of people that democratic theory sees as the fuel of political regeneration – are increasingly turning their backs on formal politics. This paper explores the structural and experiential dimensions of youth political alienation in developing democracies, specifically Pakistan and the Arab Spring generation. Based on three interrelated theoretical traditions—Karl Marx and Melvin Seeman's theory of alienation, Max Weber and David Easton's theory of political legitimacy, and Kenneth Langton's theory of political socialization—the paper constructs an analytical model with an integrative nature that can explain the current disaffection. It is a mixed method study that incorporates qualitative focus group data and quantitative public opinion survey data to capture the lived experiences of youth and macro-level attitudinal patterns. The results indicate that alienation is not simply a passive disengagement from political life but an active and reasoned reaction to failure of institutions, corruption of elites, economic marginalization and failure to deliver on promises of democratic government. The consequences for the democratic stability of fragile states are grave: when young people lose faith in the political system, they don't just stop engaging with it, they become ripe for populist, radical and authoritarian messages. This paper holds that "cosmetic reform" of the political institutions that alienate the young is not sufficient to reverse the trend; rather, fundamental change in their structures is needed.