Many political observers, struck by low turnout rates among young voters, are pessimistic about the future of democracy in Canada and other Western nations. Citizens in general are disengaged from politics, and young people in particular are said to be adrift in a sea of apathy. Others have questioned this bleak assessment, arguing that youth engagement has shifted to newer forms of political and community involvement. In Citizens Adrift, Paul Howe examines past and present patterns of political and civic engagement and concludes that many young Canadians are, in fact, deeply detached from the public realm. Two trends underlie his findings: waning political knowledge and attentiveness and generational changes in the norms and values that help sustain social integration. Citizens Adrift shows that, in order to devise policy initiatives that put young people back on the path towards engaged citizenship, we must acknowledge that democratic engagement extends beyond the realm of formal politics. By linking political engagement to broader social and cultural changes, Citizens Adrift maps out a holistic approach to the problem of democratic disengagement, one with broad applicability across the Western democracies. | Citizens Adrift by Paul Howe, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters