This article was downloaded by: [University of York]

On: 23 October 2014, At: 02:06

Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered
office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Political Science Education

Publication details, including instructions for authors and
subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/upse20

Review of The Internet Generation:

Engaged Citizens or Political Dropouts
a
Lauri Rapeli
a
University of Turku , Finland
Published online: 08 Feb 2011.

To cite this article: Lauri Rapeli (2011) Review of The Internet Generation: Engaged
Citizens or Political Dropouts , Journal of Political Science Education, 7:1, 129-131, DOI:
10.1080/15512169.2011.539923

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2011.539923

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the
“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,
our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to
the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions
and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,
and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content
should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources
of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,
proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or
howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising
out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any
substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,
systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &
Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-
and-conditions
 Journal of Political Science Education, 7:129–131, 2011
Copyright # 2011 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 1551-2169 print=1551-2177 online
DOI: 10.1080/15512169.2011.539923

Book Review

Review of The Internet Generation: Engaged

Citizens or Political Dropouts
LAURI RAPELI
University of Turku, Finland
Downloaded by [University of York] at 02:06 23 October 2014

There is a deficit in the Western democracies of our time: The younger generations
vote less eagerly than their elders and this is not being compensated by their being
politically active in other ways. Therefore, the total amount of political participation
continuously diminishes. What can we do about it now that especially the United
States and Canada lag behind Europe, and especially Scandinavia, in terms of youth
political participation?
Building on his previous work Henry Milner compares North America and
Scandinavia, the two areas he is quite familiar with, and examines the effects of indi-
vidual and aggregate level factors on youth political participation. He targets the so
called Internet generation: those young citizens who reached adulthood after the
1990s. This generation is seen as unique in terms of its relationship to politics. Its
interaction with the surrounding world has always been defined by an unprecedented
speed of technological progress.
One of Milner’s key assertions is that structural factors such as party and
electoral systems are the key to understanding how patterns of political participation
develop among young people. According to Milner, various societal interests are
integrated more effectively into political decision making through the combination
of multiparty systems and proportional electoral systems. These are also typical of
the political systems in Scandinavia where, as expected, the youth are more active
politically. These institutions enhance political participation of young people
because they create a situation where making sense of politics is not only easier
but also more relevant. Milner makes his case convincingly when he argues in
favor of proportional representation, a somewhat unfamiliar concept for North
Americans.
In the final part, Milner explores recent studies to see whether and how the
youth could be activated with the help of schools. He presents his recipe for
increased informed political participation. The message is that civic courses should
be taught right before students reach voting age and that the focus should be on
developing habits that foster attentiveness to politics.

Henry Milner. 2010. The Internet Generation: Engaged Citizens or Political Dropouts.
Medford, MA: Tufts University Press.
Address correspondence to Lauri Rapeli, Linnankatu 55 H 264, 20100 Turku, Finland.
E-mail: lauri.rapeli@utu.fi

129
 130 L. Rapeli

Milner’s book is intelligible also to the less expert readers. According to Milner,
the book is about finding out what obstacles the young citizens of North America
are facing as they try to make sense of politics and how those obstacles could be
overcome. The objective of the book is thus quite pragmatic and Milner definitely
delivers. However, instead of a carefully designed research question, the book is
essentially about an interpretation of a current state of affairs that the author con-
siders to be in need of a change: Low youth participation is a problem and it needs to
be fixed. In order to establish this, Milner begins the book with a lengthy
presentation of the normative ground for his study.
The explicit normative premises are perhaps a bit misleading. Milner is more
analytical and objective than what one might expect after reading the introduction.
There is plenty of multifaceted analysis. Milner often questions conventional
wisdoms. Both the part that deals with the Internet and the chapter explaining the
way electoral systems affect political participation are especially enjoyable.
Downloaded by [University of York] at 02:06 23 October 2014

Additionally, Milner has an important and well-grounded message to

everyone conducting surveys. He argues that political knowledge should be given
a more prominent role as an indicator of political attentiveness. Milner says that
it is easy to claim to be politically interested and to offer an opinion to any ques-
tion posed by an interviewer since there is no way to check the truthfulness of
those replies. But one cannot ‘‘cheat’’ on questions measuring factual knowledge
and we might here have an opportunity to get a more realistic picture of citizens’
political attentiveness. Milner makes an excellent point in suggesting that factual
knowledge may in the future be a very important predictor of youth political
participation.
The book has many merits but the imprecise definitions of the key concepts—
democratic deficit and informed political participation—might trouble the critical
reader. The idea of a democratic deficit presupposes an absolute zero as the reference
point. Otherwise, a deficit cannot exist. Milner’s reference point seems to be voter
turnout from several decades ago when it peaked in most Western democracies.
But what if the peak in turnout should instead be considered a long-lost democratic
surplus? Could it be that we are not witnessing a deficit but rather the level zero of
political participation? Either way, the book would have benefited from posing these
questions. It is not self-evident whose problem low political engagement among the
youth really is. Many young people do not consider political apathy a problem.
Looking at the democratic deficit from this angle could have led the author to
contemplate what lies behind the decline in youth political participation.
In similar vein, informed political participation is much more challenging
analytically than what is revealed in the book. The idea is quite understandable
and well suited for the book’s purpose. It is about having a minimum of knowledge
required to participate effectively in politics. What Milner is saying, whether he
wants to or not, is that one can either succeed or fail when participating politically
depending on one’s level of political knowledge. This leads to many critically impor-
tant yet unanswered questions: What specifically comprises minimal knowledge?
Once defined, how does this make the difference between informed and uninformed
participation? On what grounds can political participation be considered to be
‘‘informed’’ and, thus, successful?
While the strong normative stance adopted in the book may have led to some
conceptual inaccuracy, Milner is candid about telling the reader where he stands.
This is consistent with the pragmatic nature of the study. It is delightful to read what
 Book Review 131

an experienced scholar has to say about a topic he feels is important. Sometimes

the best studies stem from personal commitment and strong opinions. It is easy to
recommend the book to classes in voting and political behavior and to
everyone interested in understanding contemporary debates on youth political
participation.
Downloaded by [University of York] at 02:06 23 October 2014