Department of Politics

[Title card: Can young people change politics?]

[Man talks to camera]

I can see why young people are incredibly disenfranchised by politics. But young people and the young student demographic has huge opportunities to change politics.

[Second man talks to camera] 

I think politics is often stacked against young people, but there’s so much more scope for youth turnout to increase. And they can pressure governments on issues like climate, intergenerational justice and so many others.

[Woman talks to camera]

History shows that they have been doing that for so long. They are still doing that. They come and they bring fresh ideas about how to change the world. We’ve seen social movements with, massive policy implications.

So we really need to trust them more, believe them, listen to them and and actually accept what they bring to the table
in order to improve our democracies.
 
[Third man talks to camera]

Undoubtedly, everyone can change politics. You don’t have to be Greta Thunberg to change politics.
 
You just have to engage. You have to care. And you have to get off your bum and do something.
 
[Second woman talks to camera]

Definitely, young people can change politics and in all sorts of ways.
 
It’s not just about running for office or being involved in organising protests, although we do have students who do those things.
 
But I think it’s also about having conversations and listening, actually listening to people from all different sorts of, backgrounds.
 
[Fourth man talks to camera]

I think young people already are changing politics. There’s lots of evidence that young people have different attitudes towards lots of political issues.
 
But in order for those to be put into action, they’ve got to actually politically act, join political parties, join social movements, etc.
 
[Third woman talks to camera]

Maybe now more than ever, not only with their vote, with their bodies, going to the streets, protesting, but also with their voice on social media, they can reach, a lot of people.
 
So it is more important than ever to have educated young people that know about politics.
 
[Fifth man talks to camera]

It’s very difficult because there’s not as many of them as there are old people. They tend not to vote as much, and also they change their mind quite a lot.
 
[Sixth man talks to camera]

One thing is for sure, they can’t unless they engage with politics. So they have to start doing that.
 
[Seventh man talks to camera]

Yes, and to many extents, they are changing politics through their activism, by volunteering, but also by, different protest movements that have grown a lot in the last few years.

[Title card: Is populism unstoppable?] 

[Man talks to camera]

No. Populism is a fundamental part of the democratic process.

If you don’t have a democracy, you won’t have populism.

And I think we all agree. We want to keep democracies moving forward, improving and learning from the mistakes in the past.
 
[Woman talks to camera]

Populism is not unstoppable, but unfortunately, it often only stops after things have got really bad. After, for example, populists have completely driven the economy into the ground.

So I think the question is, how can we identify the early warning signs and stop it before it gets to that really bad situation? 

[Second woman talks to camera]

It flourishes by tapping into discontent and dissatisfaction. But also, it thrives during times of crisis.

So if we try to understand the roots of this discontent and dissatisfaction, we can actually stop populism and improve our democratic societies.

So I don’t know what populism is, but if it is the tension between the elites and the masses. Well, yes, this is the defining characteristic of politics at this time.

[Third woman talks to camera]

Populists only have power because we give it to them. But if we want to stop populism, we need to understand why people think populists are good politicians and change their mind.

[Fourth woman talks to camera]

There’ll always be populist leaders who will try to capitalise on the political, economic and societal crisis. But for populism to rise as a ideology that will vary upon the circumstances.

[Fifth woman talks to camera]

No, but we can’t be scared of it. We’ve got to engage with it. We’ve got to understand it, and we’ve got to be willing to, provide counterarguments and the evidence to back that up.

[Third man talks to camera]

I think politics is, always changing and has an unpredictable element to it. So nothing, including populism is unstoppable. 

[Fourth man talks to camera]

I think a particular era of capitalist growth came to a crisis in 2008, and nothing has really replaced it.

And mainstream political parties are struggling to come up with an alternative. I think that’s fueling support for populism the longer that situation continues.

[Fifth man talks to camera] 

Populism is very much stoppable. Populism has always ended in the past, but it always comes back.