New Directions in Political Socialization Research

More than fifty years ago Greenstein (1965: 13) put the central question of political socialization research (borrowing from Lasswell) like this: “Who learns what from whom under what circumstances with what effects?” This question is today still not fully answered. Given an understanding of political socialization as an induction into the political culture of a regime that comprises 1) cognitive, 2) normative and 3) affective components (e.g. Almond 1960: 27), there are different and alternative explanations with regard to how and when people form their political attitudes and whether these change throughout their lives. One of the most important explanations concerns the learning of social patterns via social interaction, as mediated by different agents in society (a thesis widely accepted since the 1950s). <br><br> The study of political socialization, the role of different socializing agents, and the mechanisms involved has been neglected by mainstream political research for a long time. This research deficit becomes especially blatant in light of political and societal changes and transformations during the last decades. Transnationalization processes such as the ongoing European integration, and democratic transformation in former totalitarian regimes are just two main developments on the macro level of politics and society which are bound to shape political socialization processes on the individual citizen’s level as well, and which require a fresh look on Greenstein’s important question. Recent research approaches suggest that there are slow movements towards tackling these new challenges for political socialization research (e.g. Sapiro 2004; Sears/Levy 2003). <br><br> There have not only been changes and transformations with regard to the content, the ‘what’ of political learning. Recent research approaches suggest that the longstanding confinement to the study of adolescents in political socialization research is enriched by focuses on both ends of the political life cycle: young children (van Deth et al. 2007) and senior citizens (e.g. Goerres 2006). Recent publications and the availability of new individual level data are bringing political socialization questions to the forefront (see Zuckerman et al. 2007). However, new research approaches still remain mostly isolated from each other and far from forming a cohesive body of research. It is the aim of the proposed workshop to integrate these new approaches and studies to: <br><br> 1. discuss the up to date findings regarding the timing of the acquisition of political orientations, the socialization contexts, and the actors and the mechanisms involved in these socialization processes and 2. to debate how the recent social transformations mentioned above challenge existing political socialization wisdom and opens directions for new research.