On what basis can we justify including or exclude our political future from formally participating in elections? This thesis ponders on what argumentative basis an update for German democracy is...Show moreOn what basis can we justify including or exclude our political future from formally participating in elections? This thesis ponders on what argumentative basis an update for German democracy is necessary and justified. More specifically, whether the legal voting age can be reduced from 18 to 16 in Germany. For this, a qualitative methodology was employed, by conducting multiple semistructured interviews with 16 and 17-year-olds. Alongside the literature review, this methodology helped understand the conceptualisations and operationalisations of existing arguments for and against awarding the right to vote to 16-year-olds and onwards. This thesis finds that the central arguments, namely the Normative, Political Understanding, and Maturity arguments are conceptualised and operationalised significantly differently in the existing literature and by the interview participants. Overall, however, a broad consensus on the limited quality of political education in German high schools has been identified and subsequently rendered 16 and 17-year-olds insufficiently prepared for political participation. Finally, this thesis concludes that the inclusion of potential beneficiaries in the assessment and decision of reducing the legal voting age to 16 is an imperative prerequisite to effectively and efficaciously updating our democracies. Likewise, the inclusion of 16 and 17-year-olds in this thesis has provided us with the insight and incentive to improve our political education and to improve our democracies as a whole.Show less
