Abstract

ALVAREZ-TORRES, Cheryl  and  MONSIVAIS-CARRILLO, Alejandro. Democracy, Deliberative Capacities and Political Inclusion of Youth: The Case of Baja California. Rev. mex. cienc. polít. soc [online]. 2015, vol.60, n.225, pp.161-202. ISSN 0185-1918.

This article analyzes the political inclusion of youth from the perspective of the deliberative theory of democracy aiming at formulating a conception that could serve as a normative parameter for public policies and as an instrument for empirical research. In the first part it is argued that the political inclusion of youth is relevant for two reasons: it gets them involved in public matters and promotes the intergenerational strengthening of values and institutions of democracy. Second, the scope of deliberative capacities is presented and defended in order to promote and analyze the democratic inclusion of youth. Third, the development of the analysis of a sub-national Mexican case in the state of Baja California is presented due to the fact that it has one of the highest Human Development indexes in the country, a competitive electoral regime and its citizens are detached from politics. The analysis shows the attributes and challenges of political inclusion of youth in this entity where the associative dynamics are weakly institutionalized and public politics toward youth lack continuity and are inefficient.

Keywords : deliberative theory of democracy; political inclusion; youth; youth politics; Baja California.