Mobilizing Referenda: The Effects of Direct Democracy on Youth Political Participation

This paper investigates determinants of adolescents’ political participation in two political systems. Political participation of adolescents is influenced by personal resources such as cognitive abilities as well as institutional context, for example the political system. In this study we examine the interplay of one systemic factor, namely whether the political system is a direct or representative democracy, and resources on the individual level: news media use and internal political efficacy. We apply a Most Similar Systems Design by comparing two
largely similar countries (Netherlands and Switzerland) that differ in one critical institutional variable (representative versus direct democracy). The comparison between Switzerland and the Netherlands reveals that adolescents in Switzerland participate significantly more in political activities. The relationship between direct democratic institutions and political participation is partially mediated by political efficacy. However, the mediation only occurs if adolescents use news media regularly.