Young people are mobilising more than ever before for democracy. Hopes are high that the young can act as a democratic catalyst to turn back the powerful wave of authoritarianism across the world. But is this really possible?
Inclusive democracy depends on broad societal engagement, including from the largest age cohort globally – young people. Yet political representation of the younger generation remains disproportionately low, and not just because of increasing disillusionment with politics among young people. Political systems are often closed, exclusionary, and at times openly resistant to meaningful youth participation.
This report dissects the different ways in which young actors are responding to these challenges, examining what is driving young people to mobilise and what kinds of political participation they are developing. Young researchers from around the world correct some of the conventional wisdom about youth political participation and reveal the complex dynamics of young people’s role in and for democracy today.
Authors
This publication was produced as part of the WYDE Civic Engagement powered by the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) and European Union that seeks to enhance the involvement of youth in democratic processes at national, regional, and global levels.
The authors of the case studies are members of the Young Researchers’ Network supported by the Youth Democracy Cohort.
Photo credit: Kaia Rose/Connect4Climate, flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
