ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the way participants discussed named political organisations and events. Citizens are placed outside the academic construct of politics, reasons are identified for non-participation in institutional politics or on the political validity of non-institutional repertoires. Although ‘cynical’ about formal politics and politicians, British youth consider the state important in their lives and central to the meaning of politics. The recognition of lifestyle movements as politics is controversial within social movement research. United Kingdom participants referred to a range of named organisations and events related to protest or institutional politics. For institutionalised actions, such as civic and community engagement or participating in institutional politics, participants focused more on participation and its constraints. Contemporary elite institutional politics is reinforced by powerful media coverage, while past institutional events are mostly treated as bygones, unless policies ‘overstepped a mark’ for many and were associated with still-remembered protests.
