Ever since what is considered in collective memory as the halcyon days of youth/student protest in the late 1960’s, social scientists are researching what has changed in the relationship between young citizens and politics. Forty years on, using the data of the 2006 Belgian Youth Survey I would like to verify whether different forms of citizenship that are portrayed in literature are effectively to be discerned amongst young people. If this is so, do these categories of citizenship show distinct profile features that set young citizens apart? Especially so concerning their involvement with, and trust in the political process. I will also look into whether their political resources (education, socio-economical background) are determinant factors for different forms of citizenship.
Young people are often excluded from the traditional forms of participation (voting, political parties), we want to see if this makes them more receptive for New Social Movements and so-called ‘non-conventional’ forms of participation (protest, boycott).