Is there a ‘Youthquake’? The Structure of Party Competition and Age Differences in Voting

Why do age differences matter for voting in some countries and not in others? Despite the prevailing narrative that a ‘youthquake’ in voting is occurring across established democracies, age effects vary considerably across countries. We seek to explain this apparent contradiction through three studies, using large comparative survey data (the World Political Cleavages and Inequality Database and the European Election Study voter survey) and survey data from Denmark and Great-Britain. We find that the explanation for variation in age differences lies with the structure of party competition and the policy positions of the major parties. When left parties adopt a progressive position on the sociocultural dimension, younger people are attracted to the political left; when parties do not align themselves on this dimension, there are no significant age differences in voting in voting for the left. The findings suggest that party positioning structures age variations in voting, not social dynamics.