CSHE Webinar S6: Youth Political Engagement, Corruption And Higher Education

Youth Political Engagement, Corruption And Higher Education Dr Magdelina Kitanova Declining levels of youth political participation pose a challenge to many advanced and new democracies. I examine the differences across various types of political participation among young people. I present an empirical analysis exploring the effect of corruption and education on the propensity of young individuals to vote and participate in informal politics. I develop a comparative perspective on youth (dis)engagement in politics and suggests the original claim that the context matter and affect youth political participation and fundamentally condition the way young people participate in politics. Particularly, when it comes to youth participation in politics, education and social class have the most bearing on young people’s political engagement. In order to assess these claims, I analyse time-series cross-sectional data from the European Social Survey data (ESS, 2002-2016) and a country-level dataset of institutional measures (2002-2016). Corruption not only influences on the youth political engagement of individuals in the EU, it has an impact on the Higher education system in the country. _____________________________________________ Dr Magdelina Kitanova BA, MA, MSc, PhD is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at UCD. Prior to joining UCD, Magdelina completed a PhD in Politics at the University of Southampton, UK, being awarded an Economic and Social Research Council studentship for her research. Her PhD thesis argued that political institutions significantly matter in shaping levels of youth political participation in the EU. Magdelina has completed more than 7 years combined of research, both quantitative and qualitative. She was also a Lecturer in Research skills in Politics and Political Systems at the University of Southampton. Magdelina has experience as a data analyst at the European Commission. Magdelina has previously presented her research at numerous conferences and has been involved in interdisciplinary projects in Bulgaria, UK, Australia, Iceland, Germany, and Italy.