The status of student political activism in the 1970s and 1980s in such nations as the United States, Britain, India, Japan, Italy, Canada, West Germany, Greece, Zambia and Latin America is examined. The volume consists of 13 chapters written by scholars who all agree that student activism is not now at peak levels of the 1960s, yet student movements continue to exist and student politics remains an important issue. Chapters include: "Student Activism in the 1970s and 1980s" (Philip Altbach); "From Revolution to Apathy: American Student Activism in the 1970s" (Philip Altbach); "Student Politics in America: Transformation Not Decline" (Arthur Levine and Keith R. Wilson); "The 'Old' New Left: A Reassessment by Former Participants in Canada, the United States and West Germany" (Cyril Levitt); "The 1970s in France: A Period of Student Retreat" (Raymond Boudon); "Student Politics in Italy: From Utopia to Terrorism" (Gianni Statera); "The Sixties and the Seventies: Aspects of Student Activism in West Germany" (Wolff-Dietrich Webler); "Japanese Student Activism in the 1970s" (Michiya Shimbori); "Contrary Imaginations: Student Activism and Beliefs in England During the Mid-1970s" (Pamela J. Yettram); "Student Activism in Greece: A Historical and Empirical Analysis" (George Psacharopoulos and Andreas M. Kazamias); "Student Politics in Contemporary Latin America" (Daniel Levy); "Sadhus No Longer: Recent Trends in Indian Student Activism" (N. Jayaram); and "Determinants of Third World Student Political Activism in the Seventies: The Case of Zambia" (Y. G. M. Lulat). Several conclusions are cited such as: (1) most of the literature on student activism resulted from the student political activities of the 1960s; (2) there is a dramatic difference between the student activism between the industrial nations and the Third World; (3) students in the Third World nations usually have direct political effect because of the lack of established political structures often present in developing nations; (4) student attitudes still rest well to the left of the general population; and (5) the economic situation in the 1970s has had an impact on the student population, in general tending to diminish activist movements in the industrialized nations. A list of contributors and an index are provided. (LC)