Raising inequalities led young citizens, especially after the recent economic crisis, to resort to unconventional participation forms. Elections no longer function as the primary communication method between citizens and representatives. This trend poses serious challenges to democracy's legitimacy because turnout inequality increases. Research efforts, so far, have mainly focused on individual level determinants of political participation. However, a micro-macro model is needed because levels of protest and turnout vary between countries. Based on the contextual cue theory and the political opportunity theory, we argue that the openness of the political system towards young citizens shapes their political engagement. Higher levels of descriptive representation foster young citizens' electoral participation and dampen their unconventional participation. We operationalize these hypotheses by means of multilevel analysis and cross-level interactions. The cross-national and over-time analysis is based on six European Social Survey waves (2002-2012) and complemented by information on candidates' and representatives' age.
