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POLITICAL GENERATIONS: SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE CONCEPT AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE GERMAN CASE
Author(s) -
ALLERBECK KLAUS R.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
european journal of political research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.267
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1475-6765
pISSN - 0304-4130
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6765.1977.tb01216.x
Subject(s) - german , politics , first generation , cohort effect , survey data collection , point (geometry) , stability (learning theory) , sociology , general social survey , longitudinal data , political science , demographic economics , political economy , social science , economics , demography , history , law , computer science , population , statistics , mathematics , geometry , archaeology , machine learning
The paper examines the problem of measuring the effect of generation membership on political attitudes. Using Karl Mannheim's concept of “generation” and “generation units” as a starting point, popular notions of generational differences in political outlook in Germany are discussed. The applicability of cohort analysis to the study of political generations and survey data is treated. Election results and survey data are used to investigate the separation of ageing and generation effects on political attitudes of Germans today. As age differences are linked to education effects, the stability of the impact of higher education is considered. The interaction of generation membership and social structural forces is considered. The importance of the basic demographic process in the study of historical change is stressed.