Engaging the youth - citizenship and political participation in Pakistan

The article explores the issue of youth political participation in Pakistan. In the light of the attention devoted by the Pakistani press to the youth vote in the 2013 Pakistani elections, this article discusses young Pakistanis' articulation of their views on mainstream politics and their view...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Commonwealth & comparative politics 2014-10, Vol.52 (4), p.535-562
Main Author: Lall, Marie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Articulation
Citizenship
Education
Elections
Pakistan
Political behavior
political literacy
Political Participation
Politics
Population
Responsibility
Rights
Voting
Youth
Youth and politics
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Summary:The article explores the issue of youth political participation in Pakistan. In the light of the attention devoted by the Pakistani press to the youth vote in the 2013 Pakistani elections, this article discusses young Pakistanis' articulation of their views on mainstream politics and their views of the state, and attempts to answer the question as to why young people in Pakistan are disillusioned with mainstream politics. The article focuses in particular on the perceptions held by those in their late teens to late 20s. Since 59 per cent of Pakistan's population is below the age of 24 and overall over 67 per cent of the population is under 30, their views on the state, rights, responsibilities and their concept of citizenship are a window into how Pakistan is likely to develop. The focus of the article is on voices that are rarely heard and which stand in stark contrast to the solutions offered by the institutional literature. The research is located in the wider discussion of the concept of citizenship and builds on previous work on citizenship in Pakistan.
ISSN:1466-2043
1743-9094
DOI:10.1080/14662043.2014.959288