Osallistumattomuutta ja korkeaa luottamusta : suomalaisten nuorten aikuisten suhde puolueisiin 2000-luvulla

Authors

• Elina Kestilä-Kekkonen

Abstract

In the last thirty years, West European political parties have faced several challenges both or­ganisationally and administratively, but particularly in their relationship with the electorate. Si­multaneously, several studies have shown that particularly young adults, despite their higher level of education, are the most passive age group in terms of political participation. This paper sets, thus, the political parties against their under 30- year-old electorate and examines their trust in parties. Empirical part proceeds in three steps and is based on the analyses of two data sets, Finn­ish Youth Survey 2006 and European Social Survey (2006/2007). The results show that antiparty­ism among young adults is not strongly tied to their socioeconomic background in Finland, and more importantly, the trust in parties among the youth is overall significantly higher than in older age groups. Furthermore, compared to their West European peers, the Finnish youth seems to be one of the most trusting when it comes to political parties