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From page 346...
... 346 6 The Transition to Citizenship INTRODUCTION The transition to adulthood includes the acquisition of civic rights and responsibilities by young people and the possibility for heightened social, civic, and political participation. Opportunities for participation are important for both an individual's development and socialization as well as for larger social and political goals such as maintaining social contracts, nation building, fostering political and economic stability, and ensuring the sustainability and strength of democracy (Erikson, 1968; Putnam, 2000; Youniss et al., 2002)
From page 347...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 347 sense of self and a sense of personal competence -- are all part of effective citizenship in its best sense. Furthermore, the rights and opportunities that young people are granted and the agency they develop as part of the transition to adult citizenship are often closely linked to the outcomes of other important transitions to adulthood, including health, schooling, work, and the acquisition of adult roles in the family, as well as the range of social spaces they are ultimately able to inhabit.
From page 348...
... 348 GROWING UP GLOBAL citizenship in the United States and other developed countries (Flanagan et al., 1999; Putnam, 2000; Torney-Purta et al., 2001; Yates and Youniss, 1999) , research dedicated to this subject in most developing countries is only just emerging.
From page 349...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 349 cial connectedness. We then address the formation of citizenship by young people, with specific attention to how the transition to adult citizenship relates to other important transitions.
From page 350...
... 350 GROWING UP GLOBAL Africa. These relationships of ethnic, religious, and language identities mediate both access to rights and resources and the way that individuals relate to the nation-state (Mamdani, 1996)
From page 351...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 351 of globalization, has created additional challenges for the formation of citizens. For example, urbanization and industrialization can often be disruptive to existing social and cultural systems, making it more difficult for young people to integrate into cohesive community networks, and making it more likely that they resort to violence in order to establish their membership and status (Heitmeyer, 2002)
From page 352...
... 352 GROWING UP GLOBAL crucial for the full realization of one's capabilities. Self-esteem and a sense that one is worthy of participation in political life mediate decision-making and one's ability to utilize the resources of human and social capital.
From page 353...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 353 of the formal norms granting rights and recognizing individuals occur at the national level. However, global platforms and local communities have become critical sites in promoting young peoples' rights, social spaces, and status.
From page 354...
... 354 GROWING UP GLOBAL religion, freedom of association, access to national and international media, and entitlements to education, health care, a safe living environment, and nationality (United Nations, 1989)
From page 355...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 355 (United Nations, 1996)
From page 356...
... 356 GROWING UP GLOBAL Skinner, 2002)
From page 357...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 357 As with other policy arenas, the legal frameworks concerning the treatment of young people in the criminal justice system vary widely by country; multiple systems may operate simultaneously, and practice may diverge from the actual law. Information on the age at which young people are tried as adults is listed in Table 6-1.
From page 358...
... 358 GROWING UP GLOBAL TABLE 6-1 Age of Majority for Various Activities Leaving Region and Country Voting School Employment South-central/South-eastern Asia Bangladesh 18 12 Bhutan varies no min. Cambodia 18 no min.
From page 359...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 359 Continued Voluntary Compulsory Military Military Criminal Women Allowed Recruitment Recruitment Age Responsibility in Militarya 16 b 7 Noncombat 18 b 18 b no min. 18 b 10 16 b 7 Noncombat 18 18 16 16 18 15 18 b Noncombat 18 7 Nurse corps 18 b 10 Medical corps 18 b 7 18 18 9 Yes 16.5 18 18 b 8 Yes 18 18 7 Yes 18 14 no min.
From page 360...
... 360 GROWING UP GLOBAL Western/Middle Africa Angola 18 Benin 18 14 Burkina Faso 18 no min.
From page 361...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 361 Continued 17 21 21 13 20 18 13 Yes 18 b 10 Yes 16 18 18 13 18/any agec 20/any agec 13 Yes 18 b 18 18 10 Yes 16 18 b 13 18 b 7 18 18 7 Yes 18 18 18 16 18 b Yes 18 18 13 Noncombat 18/16c 17 no min. Yes 18 13 18 b 7 18 18 13 No consent or 18 18 10 18 18 no min.
From page 362...
... 362 GROWING UP GLOBAL Former Soviet Asia Azerbaijan 18 Belarus 18 Kazakhstan 18 Kyrgyzstan 15 Tajikistan 14 Turkmenistan Uzbekistan 16 Caribbean/Central America Bahamas 18 Barbados 16 no min. Belize 18 14 12 Costa Rica 18 no min.
From page 363...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 363 Continued 18 18 14 18 16 18 18 14 18 18 18 18 13 Yes b 18c b 7 18 b 7 18 18 18 16/17 16 18 b 12 16 18 16 Noncombat 18 18 12 Yes 18 b 18 b 12 Yes 18 b 12 16c 18 no min. 17 b 13 Yes 18 b 18 18 b 7 Yes 18 b Admin.
From page 364...
... 364 GROWING UP GLOBAL South Africa 18 15 no min. Swaziland 18 Tanzania 18 13 no min.
From page 365...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 365 NOTES: No min. = no minimum.
From page 366...
... 366 GROWING UP GLOBAL TABLE 6-2 Access of Women to Equal Inheritance, Property, and Divorce Rights Equal Equal Equal Region and Inheritance Property Divorce Country Rights Rights Rights South-central/South-eastern Asia Bangladesh no no n.a. Bhutan yes n.a.
From page 367...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 367 Congo no no no DRC no no no Gabon no no no Gambia no n.a. no Ghana no no no Guinea no no no Guinea-Bissau no no no Mali no no no Niger no no no Nigeria no no no Senegal no no yes Sierra Leone no no n.a.
From page 368...
... 368 GROWING UP GLOBAL Mexico n.a. yes yes Nicaragua n.a.
From page 369...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 369 opinion polls or surveys of civic and political participation that spanned the entire transition to adulthood. Commonly cited data sets, such as the World Values Survey (WVS)
From page 370...
... 370 GROWING UP GLOBAL with the community and the nation-state, but they do not provide any information about what meanings young people themselves attach to these structures and relationships. At this stage, more in-depth qualitative studies are needed, in order to document the range of local possibilities for young people to engage with their communities.
From page 371...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 371 TABLE 6-3 Percentage Discussed Politics with Friends ("frequently" or "occasionally")
From page 372...
... 372 GROWING UP GLOBAL cohort of men older than 35, while more young women appear to discuss politics than older women among the developing countries participating in the survey. Inglehart and Norris (2003)
From page 373...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 373 Latin American countries included in the Latino-Barometer surveys, the greatest differences in political interest and participation were those between countries. In the IEA surveys conducted in Chile and Colombia,15 17-year-olds were significantly more likely than 14-year-olds to express an interest in politics.
From page 374...
... 374 GROWING UP GLOBAL erning bodies, they may not perceive their opinions to matter. Likewise, while some survey results may indicate that young people are less engaged with political issues and activities than older members of society, this may also reflect their different sphere of concerns.
From page 375...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 375 Willingness to Serve in Armed Forces Young people in most countries surveyed by the WVS reported a high willingness to fight for their country should a war arise, as shown in Table 6-4. In almost all countries, more than two-thirds of young people said that they would be willing to fight for their country, with the value higher among young men than young women.
From page 376...
... 376 GROWING UP GLOBAL TABLE 6-4 Percentage Willing to Fight for Country in a War, Should the Need Arise Male (Ages) Female (Ages)
From page 377...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 377 Many transitional democracies, including Zambia, have recently emerged from situations of single-party rule. In many of these countries, new forms of party membership have found strong connections to ethnic identity.
From page 378...
... 378 T A B L E 6 -5 P er ce nt ag e w it h Po lit ic al P ar ty M em be rs hi p M em be rs hi p A ct iv e M em be rs hi p M al e Fe m al e M al e Fe m al e R eg io n an d C ou nt ry 18 -3 4 35 + 18 -3 4 35 + 18 -3 4 35 + 18 -3 4 35 + C ar ib be an /C en tr al A m er ic a M ex ic o 27 29 18 21 11 11 5 9 D om in ic an R ep ub li c 35 42 29 39 12 22 7 13 E as te rn /S ou th er n A fr ic a N ig er ia a 52 40 42 34 9 11 3 4 So ut h A m er ic a A rg en ti na 12 15 6 8 3 4 3 2 B ra zi l 14 20 10 13 6 10 5 8 C hi le 16 20 14 15 3 5 1 2 C ol om bi a 13 14 10 8 6 9 4 4 Pe ru 16 23 11 14 2 6 1 2 U ru gu ay 16 20 12 13 8 7 3 5 V en ez ue la 14 15 12 14 4 5 3 4 SE /S W A s i a B an gl ad es h 33 24 10 4 24 12 4 2 C hi na 12 24 7 10 4 11 4 4 In di ab 23 27 9 13 12 14 4 5 Pa ki s t an c n.
From page 379...
... 379 M id dl e E as t T ur ke y 12 20 3 3 7 13 0 2 Fo rm er S ov ie t A si a A rm en ia 99 10 0 10 0 10 0 1 2 0 1 A ze rb ai ja n 7 11 4 3 3 2 2 1 G eo rg ia 6 4 2 5 3 3 1 2 D ev el op ed C ou nt ri es G er m an y 8 14 5 7 3 6 2 3 Ja pa n 5 10 2 4 3 3 0 1 So ut h K or ea 12 15 9 11 3 5 1 2 Sp ai n 13 7 10 6 3 2 1 1 U SA 42 53 41 54 20 21 19 21 T O T A L 39 49 38 46 18 21 17 20 a T he s am pl e in N ig er ia i s re st ri ct ed t o ur ba n ar ea s.
From page 380...
... 380 GROWING UP GLOBAL BOX 6-1 The Struggle for Citizenship in Contemporary Cameroon Anthropologist Jude Fokwang (2003) examined the ways in which young adults in Cameroon negotiated scarce resources and opportunities to achieve full social and political citizenship.
From page 381...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 381 of young people have successfully mobilized to create a political space in which their opinions can be heard. Further qualitative research should be conducted in different national and cultural contexts to understand how political voice and action may be manifested in different forms.
From page 382...
... 382 T A B L E 6 -6 P er ce nt ag e w it h In te nt t o Pa rt ic ip at e in V ar io us P ro te st A ct iv it ie s (" ha ve d on e" o r "w ou ld d o" )
From page 383...
... 383 M id dl e E as t T ur ke y 64 50 35 19 51 28 48 26 Fo rm er S ov ie t A si a A rm en ia 56 50 44 28 62 48 56 41 A ze rb ai ja n 30 18 19 10 48 31 28 15 G eo rg ia 32 35 25 21 43 43 32 33 D ev el op ed C ou nt ri es G er m an y 98 99 83 78 85 83 93 92 Ja pa n 65 68 40 49 29 26 41 43 So ut h K or ea 88 89 86 78 70 57 88 81 Sp ai n 72 65 36 27 74 67 67 61 U SA 89 93 66 67 62 66 72 75 T O T A L 82 76 52 42 56 47 62 53 a T he s am pl e in N ig er ia i s re st ri ct ed t o ur ba n ar ea s.
From page 384...
... 384 GROWING UP GLOBAL young people are most willing to sign a petition and least willing to engage in a boycott. This is particularly true in the South American and Central American countries and for Turkey as well, where twice as many young people are willing to sign a petition as are willing to engage in a boycott.
From page 385...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 385 for the entire sample was only 55 percent.19 Similarly, 77 percent of 14year-olds and 78 percent of 17-year-olds in Chile said they would probably or definitely collect signatures for a petition, whereas these percentages were 43 and 42 percent, respectively, for the international sample. While older respondents were willing to engage in traditional political activities, they expressed greater interest in engaging in activities that had a direct impact on the community (Amadeo et al., 2002)
From page 386...
... 386 GROWING UP GLOBAL pand their social connections outside the home and develop new skills. Longitudinal research in the United States has started to identify linkages between participation in civic activities as a youth and leadership and involvement as an adult; these trajectories are especially strong for young women (Damico, Damico, and Conway, 1998; Hart, Atkins, and Ford, 1998; Verba, Schlozman, and Brady, 1995; Youniss, McLellan, and Yates, 1997)
From page 387...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 387 reported belonging to some organized peer group, with those in the Caribbean reporting the highest participation (70 percent)
From page 388...
... 388 GROWING UP GLOBAL TABLE 6-7 Percentage with Membership in Selected Organizations Church/Religious Male Female Region and Country 18-34 35+ 18-34 35+ Caribbean/Central America Mexico 67 71 73 70 Dominican Republic 65 72 79 81 Eastern/Southern Africa Nigeriaa 55 74 60 72 South America Argentina 28 30 31 42 Brazil 50 61 61 75 Chile 46 55 60 69 Peru 52 59 54 61 Uruguay 22 26 28 48 Venezuela 42 40 46 50 SE/SW Asia Bangladesh 41 58 12 13 Chinac n.a.
From page 389...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 389 Sports/Recreation Arts/Education Male Female Male Female 18-34 35+ 18-34 35+ 18-34 35+ 18-34 35+ 54 51 43 35 42 40 43 31 52 42 36 32 39 30 42 40 75 52 54 36 66 41 54 38 27 18 16 7 19 11 20 12 45 26 20 12 21 19 15 18 56 43 29 19 32 26 29 29 46 34 28 20 29 23 24 20 32 21 20 9 22 14 28 14 43 30 26 18 29 20 23 15 47 26 14 9 27 22 21 18 22 13 22 9 15 10 16 8 36 20 14 10 30 17 20 18 n.a.
From page 390...
... 390 GROWING UP GLOBAL TABLE 6-8 Percentage of Young People Who Participate in Various Activities Region and Country Sports Religious Artistic None South America Argentina 35 12 7 50 Bolivia 35 13 14 44 Brazil 27 20 6 51 Chile 28 18 10 43 Colombia 34 12 14 46 Ecuador 26 12 5 57 Guyana 26 34 9 36 Peru 34 12 9 46 Uruguay 32 9 8 47 Venezuela 33 8 9 50 Caribbean/Central America Barbados 46 33 18 16 Dominican Republic 27 17 4 42 El Salvador 47 13 4 33 Haiti 48 27 4 21 Honduras 32 28 3 34 Guatemala 34 23 5 48 Jamaica 42 14 15 32 Mexico 33 15 7 48 Nicaragua 24 8 6 59 Panama 26 21 14 45 SOURCE: UNICEF (2000:110)
From page 391...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 391 Young People and Social Inclusion The concept of citizenship encompasses much more than just a narrowly defined relationship between individuals and the state. As discussed in the previous section, social capital and the strength of the civic environment mediate the transition to adult citizenship.
From page 392...
... 392 GROWING UP GLOBAL young people. They also ask who the respondent feels close to and who they trust the most.
From page 393...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 393 government. These levels did not vary by gender but did decrease with age.
From page 394...
... 394 GROWING UP GLOBAL TABLE 6-9 Percentage of Respondents with Trust in Various Institutions ("a great deal" or "quite a lot") , Ages 18-34 Church Legal System Region and Country Male Female Male Female Caribbean/Central America Mexico 68 79 41 39 Dominican Republic 70 71 23 12 Eastern/Southern Africa Nigeriaa 81 87 55 54 South America Argentina 38 44 21 24 Brazil 71 75 51 51 Chile 72 80 38 41 Peru 61 72 20 16 Uruguay 49 48 50 47 Venezuela 72 75 37 36 SE/SW Asia Bangladesh 97 98 73 71 Chinab n.a.
From page 395...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 395 National Press Government Civil Service Police Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female 51 50 41 41 44 40 32 35 35 32 18 8 11 8 14 10 64 57 16 18 66 61 36 39 28 39 25 18 8 6 21 15 64 59 42 42 62 59 43 41 50 51 50 45 41 41 44 48 26 29 40 35 11 8 22 24 56 58 29 33 31 42 37 49 58 63 28 24 29 32 30 25 67 66 78 77 75 69 36 32 n.a.
From page 396...
... 396 GROWING UP GLOBAL BOX 6-2 Young Men and Pentecostalism in Tanzania As one of the fastest growing cities in Africa, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, has a large youth population, including rural migrants and refugees from neighboring war-torn countries, including Burundi. Most of these young people operate in the informal economy, outside official state sanctions and within the bounds of an urban youth culture defined by heightened alertness, secret codes, and a celebration of their outcast status.
From page 397...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 397 may be perpetrators of violence themselves, marginalized young people may have few disincentives to the use of violence or petty crime to overcome their lack of social and economic opportunity. During the political and economic unrest in Senegal in the late 1980s, groups of young people formed patrols to replace the weakly functioning police force; although these groups walked the fine line of peacekeeping and vigilante justice, they represented a local response to the existing disorder (Diouf, 1996)
From page 398...
... 398 GROWING UP GLOBAL cies that may change frequently, as government power shifts between political parties, and by the agenda that designs and interprets the content of the curriculum. The Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines the right to education in Articles 28 and 29.
From page 399...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 399 to address civic knowledge, life skills, and human rights. Some schools may also provide opportunities for students for leadership training through systems of student governance, require community service from students, or host special programs on current social and political topics.
From page 400...
... 400 GROWING UP GLOBAL may be less likely to attend schools with good quality of instruction or with the resources for extracurricular activities or sports facilities. Nonformal Programs for the Formation of Citizenship The public education system is not the only institution providing civic education.
From page 401...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 401 tolerant values, and participate in key democratic actions, such as voting in elections (Bratton et al., 1999)
From page 402...
... 402 GROWING UP GLOBAL citizens, especially adolescents who have not yet reached the age of majority, a focus on civic knowledge may be less important than fostering an ethic of civic responsibility and participation. In developed countries, many programs, both school-based and nonschool-based, have encouraged youth volunteerism as a path to future political engagement (Flanagan et al., 1998; Pancer and Pratt, 1999; Roker, Player, and Coleman, 1999; Yates, 1999)
From page 403...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 403 ily expectations and obligations. These aspects are shared by a broader set of interventions in the development community that focus on building the livelihoods of adolescents and young adults (Kobayashi, 2004; Population Council and UNICEF, 2003; Population Council and International Center for Research on Women, 2000)
From page 404...
... 404 GROWING UP GLOBAL Work and Citizenship Just as schools provide an environment in which young people learn about their rights and responsibilities as citizens, expand their social networks beyond the family, and gain the confidence to act in society, work can also serve as an important way to gain citizenship skills. Paid employment may develop an individual's skills, ability and social standing (Bay and Blekesaune, 2002)
From page 405...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 405 opportunities for citizenship through employment are more limited. However, the gap between young men's and women's employment is narrowing.
From page 406...
... 406 GROWING UP GLOBAL 24Ellen Marshall, formerly with the U.S. State Department, shared cables from U.S.
From page 407...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 407 exclude women from eligibility to be an officer, thereby restricting the extent to which they can fully participate or aspire to achieve in these contexts. Military service may represent an alternative pathway to training and citizenship for young people who have not been successful at school or are unable to afford to continue in school.
From page 408...
... 408 GROWING UP GLOBAL infrastructure. For example, national service programs in Burkina Faso and Ghana assign recent university and polytechnic graduates to rural areas to work in education, health, and agriculture (Marshall, 2000)
From page 409...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 409 tricity and telephone lines, but the cost of most forms of technology makes household access prohibitively expensive in many parts of the developing world (United Nations Development Programme, 1999)
From page 410...
... 410 T A B L E 6 -1 0 M ed ia A cc es s, 1 519 -Y ea rO ld s (W ei gh te d A ve ra ge s)
From page 411...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 411 However, other research has shown that heavy television viewing is associated with a "mainstreaming" of political views. In a study of Argentinean adolescents in Buenos Aires and its surrounding 41 towns, Morgan and Shanahan (1991)
From page 412...
... 412 GROWING UP GLOBAL CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS Key Findings The political and civic interests and behaviors of young people are important topics for future research. In recent years, the definition of citizenship has been broadened beyond the individual's relationship with the nationstate to encompass various dimensions of political and civic participation.
From page 413...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 413 have been adapted from public opinion surveys of adults and are grounded in the traditional indicators of citizenship as derived from Western theory. Few adequately capture regionally specific forms of participation or the collective forms of agency used by young people.
From page 414...
... 414 GROWING UP GLOBAL Programs designed to enhance the capabilities of young people should actively address issues of participation in the public domain. Selfconfidence and participation in decision-making influence a young person's self-recognition as a political actor.
From page 415...
... THE TRANSITION TO CITIZENSHIP 415 community-based nonformal organizations provide opportunities for the formation and practice of citizenship? • How do civic participation and attitudes toward politics differ between young citizens in new democracies and young citizens in established democracies?

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