Young voters in the 2011 parliamentary election

Jussi Ronkainen (ed.)

(In Finnish: Nuoret ja ääni. Nuoret eduskuntavaaleissa 2011)

How did young people vote? Where do young voters come from? How did the media portray young people in the context of the 2011 parliamentary elections? The collection of articles Young voters in the 2011 parliamentary elections explores these timely questions, among others.

The 2011 parliamentary elections will be chiefly remembered for the historic rise in support for the True Finns party. The articles in the book will study how young people voted nationally and in the Helsinki metropolitan area, their favourite and least favourite parties, and who they voted for.

The book will also consider the significance of family and home with regards to young people’s political socialization and political activity.

The book examines how young people were portrayed in election-related media coverage. The analysis of media concerning the elections and young people takes a comprehensive and critical look at how young people are either included or excluded as citizens, and on what grounds.

The collection of articles takes a stand on inter-generational justice, especially in relation to issues related to pension arrangements. Future research into young people’s political activity should focus more on how young people’s attitudes to pensions channel their political activism and how their political activities are linked to pension institutions.

Contents

Jussi Ronkainen
Introduction: Young people and politics in the 2011 parliamentary election and in the 2012 presidential election

I Young voters in the 2011 parliamentary elections

Sami Borg
Young people’s voting patterns, party attachments and representation

Tuomo Martikainen & Hanna Wass
Young people’s voting activity in the 2011 parliamentary elections

II Young people and generational politics: talk about youthand young people as the objects of political discourse

Ville-Samuli Haverinen
Becoming a citizen – observations about how the press portrayed young people and the parliamentary elections

Kimmo Elo
A one-way monologue or inter-generational dialogue? Observations about how family background affects young people’s political socialisation

Ville-Pekka Sorsa
Young people’s mutiny and conformity with regards to pensions: an institutional perspective