Abstract
In 2014, two independence movements involving young people emerged in two very different settings. In Scotland, the Referendum on Independence from the United Kingdom extended the franchise to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote for the very first time. In Hong Kong, the Umbrella Movement engaged young people in direct action to secure universal suffrage. Drawing on a wider study of young people and social change, this chapter explores the rise of nationalist politics and independence in times of crisis, highlighting similarities and differences in young people’s political participation in these two distinctive contexts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Batchelor, S., Whittaker, L., Fraser, A., & Ling, L. (2017). Leisure lives on the margins: (Re)imagining youth in Glasgow’s East end. In S. Blackman & R. Rogers (Eds.), Youth marginality in Britain. Contemporary studies of austerity. Bristol: Policy Press and Oxford University Press.
Beck, U. (1999). World risk society. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Breeze, M., Gorringe, H., Jamieson, L., & Rosie, M. (2015). Everybody’s Scottish at the end of the day: Nationalism and social justice amongst young yes voters. Scottish Affairs, 24(4), 419–431.
Brooks, R. (2007). Young people’s extra-curricular activities: Critical social engagement—Or something for the CV? Journal of Social Policy, 36(3), 417–434.
Brooks, R., & Hodkinson, P. (2008). Young people, new technologies and political engagement: Introduction. Journal of Youth Studies, 11(5), 473–479.
Cheng, E., & Chan, W. (2017). Explaining spontaneous occupation: Antecedents, contingencies and spaces in the Umbrella Movement. Social Movement Studies, 16(2), 222–239.
Chiu, S., & Lui, T.-L. (2000). The dynamics of social movement in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Curtice, J. (2014). So who voted yes and who voted no? What Scotland Thinks. Retrieved February 3, 2017, from http://blog.whatscotlandthinks.org/2014/09/voted-yes-voted
DeGolyer, M. (2010). Protest and post-80s youth: Sources of social instability in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Transition Project. Retrieved February 3, 2017, from http://www.hktp.org/list/protest_and_post_80s_youths.pdf
Eden, K., & Roker, D. (2002). “Doing something.” Young people as social actors. Leicester: National Youth Agency.
Electoral Commission. (2014). Scottish independence referendum research: Post-polling day opinion research report. London: Electoral Commission.
Fraser, A. (2015a). Umbrella sociology. International Institute for Asian Studies Newsletter, 70: 10–11. Retrieved February 27, 2017, from http://iias.asia/the-newsletter/article/umbrella-sociology
Fraser, A. (2015b). Urban legends. Gang identity in the post-industrial city. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fraser, A., Batchelor, S., Ling, L., & Whittaker, L. (2017). City as lens. (Re)imagining youth in Glasgow and Hong Kong. Young—Nordic Journal of Youth Research, 25(3), 1–17.
Fraser, N. (2015c). Scottish referendum could be lesson in political engagement for Hong Kong, Says first Minister Nicola Sturgeon. South China Morning Post, 30 July.
Furlong, A., & Cartmel, F. (2012). Social change and political engagement among young people. Generation and the 2009/10 British Election Survey. Parliamentary Affairs, 65(1), 13–26.
Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity. Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge: Polity.
Gray, N., & Mooney, G. (2011). Glasgow’s new urban Frontier. “Civilizing” the population of “Glasgow East”. City, 15(1), 4–24.
Griffin, P. (2015). The spatial politics of red clydeside: Historical labour geographies and radical connections. PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow.
Henn, M., & Foard, N. (2012). Young people, political participation and trust in Britain. Parliamentary Affairs, 65(16), 47–67.
Henn, M., & Foard, N. (2014). Social differentiation in young people’s political participation. The impact of social and educational factors on youth political engagement in Britain. Journal of Youth Studies, 17(3), 360–380.
Henn, M., Weinstein, M., & Forrest, S. (2005). Uninterested youth? Young people’s attitudes towards party politics in Britain. Political Studies, 53(3), 556–578.
Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Tung Chung Integrated Services. (2010). Evaluation research on HKSKH Tung Chung integrated services, model building and service development 2010. Hong Kong: HKSKH Tung Chung Integrated Service.
Hudson, N., Liddell, G., & Nicol, S. (2012). Youth unemployment. Key facts. Edinburgh: Scottish Parliament.
Inglehart, R. (1997). Modernization and postmodernization. Cultural, economic, and political change in 43 societies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Kimberlee, R. (2002). Why don’t young people vote at general elections? Journal of Youth Studies, 5(1), 85–97.
Kwan, J. (2016). The rise of civic nationalism: Shifting identities in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Contemporary Chinese Political Economy, 2(2), 941–973.
Lam, J. (2016). They’re young, vocal and very, very determined … but how do Hong Kong’s newest political parties differ? South China Morning Post, 11 April.
Lam, W.-M. (2004). Understanding the political culture of Hong Kong. The paradox of activism and depoliticization. London: Routledge.
Loader, B. (Ed.). (2007). Young citizens in the digital age. Political engagement, young people and new media. London: Routledge.
Marsh, D., O’Toole, T., & Jones, S. (2007). Young people and politics in the UK. apathy or alienation? Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
McDowell, L., Rootham, E., & Hardgrove, A. (2014). Precarious work, protest masculinity and communal regulation: South Asian young men in Luton, UK. Work, Employment and Society, 28(6), 847–864.
McLaverty, P., Baxter, G., MacLeod, I., Tate, E., Goker, A., & Heron, M. (2015). New radicals: Digital political engagement in post-referendum Scotland. Final report. Working papers of the communities & culture network+ 6.
Mooney, G., McCall, V., & Paton, K. (2015). Poverty, territorial stigmatisation and social insecurities as social harms. Scottish Justice Matters, 3(3), 27–28.
Ortmann, S. (2015). The Umbrella Movement and Hong Kong’s protracted democratization process. Asian Affairs, 46(1), 32–50.
Phelps, E. (2005). Young voters at the 2005 British general election. The Political Quarterly, 76(4), 482–487.
Phillips, T. (2016). Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement spawns new political party. The Guardian, 10 April.
Pickard, S. (2013). Sleaze, freebies and MPs: The British parliamentary expenses and allowances scandal. In D. Fée & J.-C. Sergeant (Eds.), Ethique, Politique et Corruption au Royaume-Uni (pp. 117–141). Aix-en-Provence: Presses Universitaires de Provence.
Pickard, S. (2018). Politics, protest and young people. Political participation and dissent in Britain in the 21st century. London: Palgrave Macmillan. [forthcoming].
Pilkington, H., & Pollock, G. (2016). “Politics are bollocks”: Youth, politics and activism in contemporary Europe. The Sociological Review, 63(2), 1–35.
Pirie, M., & Worcester, R. (2000). The big turn-off: Attitudes of young people to government, citizenship and community. London: Adam Smith Institute.
Rheingans, R., & Hollands, R. (2013). “There is no alternative?” Challenging dominant understandings of youth politics in late modernity through a case study of the 2010 UK student occupation movement. Journal of Youth Studies, 16(4), 546–564.
Roker, D., Player, K., & Coleman, J. (1999). Young people’s voluntary and campaigning activities as sources of political education. Oxford Review of Education, 25(1), 185–198.
Scottish Government. (2012). Scottish index of multiple deprivation 2012. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
Sloam, J. (2007). Rebooting democracy: Youth participation in politics in the UK. Parliamentary Affairs, 60(4), 548–567.
Treadwell, J., Briggs, D., Winlow, S., & Hall, S. (2013). Shopocalypse now: Consumer culture and the English riots of 2011. British Journal Criminology, 53(1), 1–17.
Van Biezen, I., Mair, P., & Poguntke, T. (2012). Going, going, … gone? The decline of party membership in contemporary Europe. European Journal of Political Research, 51(1), 24–56.
Vromen, A. (2003). People try to put us down … participatory citizenship of “Generation X”. Australian Journal of Political Science, 38(1), 79–99.
Vromen, A., Xenos, M., & Loader, B. (2015). Young people, social media and connective action. From organisational maintenance to everyday political talk. Journal of Youth Studies, 18(1), 80–100.
Wattenberg, M. (2003). Electoral turnout. The new generation gap. British Elections and Parties Review, 13(1), 159–173.
Winlow, S., Hall, S., & Treadwell, J. (2016). The rise of the right: English nationalism and the transformation of working class politics. Bristol: Policy Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Batchelor, S., Fraser, A., Ling, L.L.N., Whittaker, L. (2018). (Re)Politicising Young People: From Scotland’s Indyref to Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement. In: Pickard, S., Bessant, J. (eds) Young People Re-Generating Politics in Times of Crises. Palgrave Studies in Young People and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58250-4_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58250-4_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-58249-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-58250-4
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)