Age, Political Participation, and Political Context in Africa
Emeka Eugene Dim, Markus H Schafer- Geriatrics and Gerontology
- Gerontology
- Clinical Psychology
- Social Psychology
Abstract
Objectives
Political participation differs across the age range, but little is known about these patterns outside of developed countries. Political context is a particularly important consideration for all political behavior in Africa, where only a few countries are fully democratic. Drawing from political opportunity structures theory, we investigate how political freedom conditions the age-based pattern of electoral and non-electoral political engagement, as well as protesting.
Methods
This study merges the fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds of the Afrobarometer datasets, spanning 36 African countries, with country-level data on political freedom from Freedom House. Using multilevel regression models, we examine how political freedom shapes the relationship between age and three forms of political participation.
Results
Africans aged from 18 to 60 years and living in non-free countries are most engaged in electoral and non-electoral political activities, though participation begins to drop off markedly past age 60. For protest participation, young Africans living in partially- and non-free countries are the most engaged in protests; yet limited political freedom again means a sharp age-based decline.
Discussion
The impact of political context on the age-participation association is nuanced in ways not anticipated by mainstream research on the developed West. Repressive regimes, while spurring engagement at younger ages, appear to disproportionately deter older Africans from political engagement, especially its riskiest forms. We conclude by calling for more country-comparative gerontological research with careful attention to contextual heterogeneity, particularly in the understudied Global South.