The political socialization of isolation: a case study of the Afrikaner student youth

ABSTRACT

The premise of this article is that politically the Afrikaner youth is socialized into isolation. On the one hand, homogeneity of political influences resulting from socialization agents furthers isolation. On the other hand, through lack of political participation, Afrikaner youth does not come into contact with influences which may effect political change. To test this premise, survey data were drawn from a research project conducted among Afrikaner student youth. The following facets of their socialization process were analyzed: homogeneity of partisan identification among socialization agents, low levels of political participation which reinforce isolation from political realities, the effect of political trust and efficacy.