Subjective states: Narratives of citizenship among young Europeans KEVIN G. BARNHURST Abstract For a century in Western democracies practical citizenship has consistently fallen short of the ideal proposed by theory. By the end of the Progressive Era social thought had articulated the ideal and begun the complaints that continue today, especially against young adults. This essay presents a re- reading of thinkers from that era alongside life history accounts of citizen- ship a century later. The citizens describe political communication not as a focus of intentional thought and action but as a fringe condition. Most events quickly fade from memory, leaving residual emotion and isolated imagery attached to a media routine. Politics becomes intentional only in sporadic flashes, characterized by clashing personalities. The media create an environment (dominated by fear and hope) at the margins, from which irresistible political affinities spring. The citizens also place political iden- tity in that region, as membership in a community of sentiment reinforced through talk. They respond to political communication by asserting their autonomy, defiant and yet moved toward unity by stories of personal sacri- fice. It appears that the ideal of information-seeking, rationally deliberat- ing citizenship may itself contribute to citizen disengagement. Renewing citizenship requires a new ideal. Introduction Young adults in Europe and America are often described as apathetic, dispirited citizens. The problem is usually studied using evidence from voting patterns, attitude surveys, and audience statistics. The data accu- mulated in the past century suggest that young people have limited inter- est in being productive, efficient citizens involved in rational deliberation or instrumental political activity. They fall short on each of the three standards for citizenship that thinkers developed a century ago by the Multilingua 22 (2003), 133-168 01678507/2003/022-0133  Walter de Gruyter