The times, they are a changing in long established European and North American
democracies. Alarming numbers of young citizens seem to have turned their backs on
government and conventional politics. It appears that contemporary politics in most societies
increasingly fail to capture the interest and attention of young citizens, who are generally
skeptical of politicians and party affiliation, and increasingly unlikely to vote. A study of voting
turnout by age in 15 European democracies conducted by the Institute for Democracy and
Electoral Assistance in Sweden concluded that youth voting decline is a serious and widespread
problem for contemporary democracies looking to the new generation of citizens for
participation, legitimacy and support (IDEA, 1999).