A school of democracy? Civil society and youth participation in the multicultural Europe.

Autor/in	Forbrig, Jörg
Titel	A school of democracy? Civil society and youth participation in the multicultural Europe. Gefälligkeitsübersetzung: Eine Schule der Demokratie? Zivilgesellschaft und Jugendpartizipation im multikulturellen Europa.
Quelle	Aus: Ohana, Yael (Hrsg.); Otten, Hendrik (Hrsg.): Where do you stand? Intercultural learning and political education in contemporary Europe. Wiesbaden: VS Verl. für Sozialwiss. (2012) S. 135-160 PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Sammelwerksbeitrag
ISBN	978-3-531-18031-1
DOI	10.1007/978-3-531-94326-8_17
Schlagwörter	Gesellschaft; Intermediäre Organisation; Demokratie; Europa; Gesellschaft; Individuum; Partizipation; Politische Bildung; Revolution; Staat; Demokratisierung; Emanzipation; Multikulturelle Gesellschaft; Protestbewegung; Europäische Union; Multikulturelle Gesellschaft; Geschichte (Histor); Demokratie; Demokratisierung; Emanzipation; Partizipation; Politische Bildung; Protestbewegung; Revolution; Staat; Zivilgesellschaft; Zivilgesellschaft; Europäische Union; Individuum; Jugendlicher; Europa
Abstract	"In his article the author assesses the extent to which civil society has lived up to its promise as a school for democracy by engaging young people and acting as a platform for their political education and participation. Much has been written over the last decades about the potential of civil society to reinvigorate European democracies. The youth field also has high expectations of this realm of self-organising groups of citizens, public debate, and intermediary organisations linking individuals, society and the state. For young people, in particular, civil society seems to offer a much-needed alternative to conventional, formal and adult-driven political institutions, and a hopeful channel of engaging youth in local, national and European democratic life. The author argues, however, that reality shows that the promise of civil society is yet to be met. His contribution first discusses the conceptual grounds that have fuelled such great expectations towards civil society. It outlines several key functions that civil society is considered to play vis-à-vis democracy, all of which are significant for the potential participation of young people. In the second part of his contribution, the author presents readers with a reality-check, demonstrating that despite some positive impulses, civil society has not generated a boost in the public participation of young people to date. This sobering record is due to a number of factors including the largely subordinate position, in which much of European civil society remains towards the state, a strong project and utility orientation where processes and values should be central, and a legacy of traditional and hierarchical structures in many civic structures. Finally, The author considers how some of these obstacles can be overcome in order for civil society to become a serious venue for youth engagement. It argues that civic structures broadly need to Break out of the technocratic non-profit corner they often occupy, understand again their own role and potential in public life, acknowledge changing social realities, and reintroduce politics - understood here as pluralism, discussion and compromise - to their internal and external functioning. Only then will civil society become a meaningful and beneficial venue for the participation and political intercultural education of young people." (extract).
Erfasst von	GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Mannheim
Update	2012/4