The Sociology of Generations and Student Politics: A Comparison of the Functionalist and Generational Unit Models

An examination and comparison of two competing interpretations of generational conflict—the Eisenstadt‐Parsons functionalist model and the generational unit model of Mannheim—reveals that the generational unit model provides more theoretical and empirical opportunities for investigation that the functionalist model. While both interpretations share similar sequential characteristics, each predicts the emergence of youth politics employing different sets of independent and intervening variables. Both interpretations appear to be the result of current domestic and international conditions.