Ageing Activisms: A Narrative Exploration of Older Adults’ Experiences of Political Participation

Abstract

Studies on older adults’ political participation have been scarce. Moreover, there is a lack of evidence concerning the experience and meaning of this participation from the perspective of those involved. This study aimed at exploring older adults’ personal narratives of political participation episodes. We conducted 40 life-story interviews with Spanish lifetime activists. Their narrative accounts of positive participation experiences were analysed; thematic analysis was used for the content and Christopher Booker’s plotline classification was used for the structure. The participants’ stories revolved around political successes, leaving a legacy to younger generations, and personal growth processes. Generativity emerged as a key element of the positive political participation experiences. Although the emplotment strategies they used varied, most incorporated redemption sequences in which negative events were transformed by the protagonist’s action into positive events.