The Political Participation of Older People in Europe: The Greying of our Democracies

European Democracies Are Ageing, Which Makes Older People One Of The Largest Groups In Democratic Politics In The First Half Of The 21st Century. How And Why Do Older People Differ In Their Political Participation From Younger People? This Book Opposes The Idea That A Political ₁war Of The Generations₂ Will Be Waged In Ageing Societies. Its Objective Is To Put The Debate About The Political Behaviour Of Older People On A Sound Empirical Basis And To Generate A More Balanced View. Older People Do Not Behave Uniformly In A Different Manner From Younger People Across European Societies. For Political Participation In Later Life, It Matters Where And When Individuals Have Grown Up And In Which Country Context They Become Old. Introduction: The Political Participation Of Older People In An Era Of Demographic Ageing -- An Age-centred Model Of Political Participation -- Voting Participation -- Party Choice In Britain And West Germany -- Membership Of Political Organisations -- Non-institutionalised Participation Outside Organisations -- The Experience Of Older Participants In The English Council Tax Protests In 2004/2005 -- Summary And Conclusions. Achim Goerres. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 185-206) And Index.