Are Youth Engaging with Democracy Less?

By Robert Cadenasso
31/1/2025
Across Europe, democratic engagement is declining, especially when examining traditional democratic metrics like voting, party membership, and trust in political institutions. When focusing on these metrics, the engagement of young people is especially low. This alarming trend coincides with the rise of far right populism across Europe, but also offers an opportunity to critically re-examine our understanding of democratic and, in a broader sense, civic engagement.
According to a study of all 27 EU member states, on average only 4.65% of the possible electorate are registered members of political parties (Van Biezen et. al. 2012). Further research shows this number has been decreasing since at least the 1980s (Van Biezen et. al. 2012). People are not joining political parties, which may be indicative of an overall withdrawal from political engagement. The fact that party membership has been declining for decades does not absolve this current generation of responsibility. In contrast, the decline of party membership over the decades has had a detrimental impact on the strength of democratic institutions and, with far right populism spreading across Europe like a wildfire, the young people of today carry a heavy responsibility to protect the democracy of tomorrow. It is possible to do so without joining a political party, but the low rates of membership are a concerning trend.
Trust in political institutions has the same problems and the same ramifications. Trust has declined over decades (Chevalier 2019). Again, this is not new. In 2005, a study found that “…young people are the most disengaged of all the electoral segments in Britain,” which they deemed a “crisis” (Dermody and Hanmer-Lloyd 2005). The declining trust in 2005 and the rise of far right populism today are directly connected and it is pushing young voters away from democratic engagement. For many young voters today, the very presence of this populism embodies how these political institutions they are supposed to trust are deeply broken and, therefore, they choose not to engage at all.
This lack of engagement manifests itself in the voter turnout in parliamentary elections. According to the EU, people above 40 are still voting at greater rates than those younger. This trend is not confined to Europe, as other established democracies like the US see a similar age disparity in voting practices. However, the young adult vote (defined as ages under 25) increased by 14 percentage points to 42% between the 2014-2019 parliamentary elections (European Parliament Press Release 2023). It is good that in one five year span, young adults dramatically increased their voting rates, but that is not the entire story. There is research to indicate that right wing populist parties actually inflate voter turnout in the short term (Leininger et. al. 2020). Unfortunately, the sudden increase in voting turnouts is better described by this finding than by a belief that the younger generation suddenly gained a steadfast faith in democratic engagement.
Young people may not have started the fire, yet their continuation of the decline has allowed for populism to sweep across Europe, manifesting in the current political climate. The fact that basic metrics like party membership, voter turnout, and trust in political institutions are today outdated says more about the state of democracy than the metrics themselves. These metrics are important indicators of the health of democracy, so the fact that they are less relevant today points to a weakening of democracy as a form of governance. This may explain the rise of right wing populism across Europe, from the AfD in Germany to the rise of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in France. This phenomenon also disrupts the promising data on youth voter turnout (specifically the massive increase in the youth vote already mentioned), as there is research to indicate that right wing populist parties actually inflate voter turnout in the short term (Leininger et. al. 2020). If this is true, then the increase in voter turnout is not a good indicator for long term democratic stability.
Today, youth do engage in forms of civic engagement, if not democratic engagement, that falls outside the aforementioned metrics. While there are mixed opinions about whether younger generations are more committed to volunteer work than previous generations, what is clear is that the reasons for volunteering that young people cite indicate a civically minded generation and a propensity for helping their communities. One study focusing on volunteers from Hungary found that one of their primary motivations for volunteering was that “the fate of humanity and our environment depends on our actions,” as well as more personal goals like obtaining new skills and knowledge (Garai-Fodor et. al. 2021). This motivation is inherently civic and may have previously been channeled through more traditional metrics of engagement. Instead of joining an eco-friendly party, they may be volunteering with an organization fighting climate change. Another study focusing on Austrian youths found that many volunteers were motivated by an altruistic reason: that they could help other people (Hauser-Oppelmayer and Korac 2024). Finally, a third study found that a key factor for youth is “...the enthusiasm generated by the chance to make their contribution, the optimistic attitude, and the interest in the volunteering mission” (Dodoc 2023). There are two key takeaways: First, young adults seek opportunities that give them more immediate positive stimulation. Volunteering provides instant gratification in a manner that engaging with traditional democratic mechanisms may not. Second, it seems the younger generation channels their passions or interests into volunteering and not political channels. It is evident that young adults care about bettering their communities and working to address social and political issues, it may just be the manifestation of that will is not captured by normal democratic metrics. Unfortunately, the younger generation can volunteer and further their causes in such a manner, but it does not seem to be an effective means of protecting their countries from this wave of populism. It is incorrect to assume this generation is less engaged than previous generations at their age, but what is correct is that their lack of engagement will be far more consequential than that of the previous generations.
Sources
Chevalier, T. (2019), Political trust, young people and institutions in Europe. A multilevel analysis. Int J Soc Welfare, 28: 418-430. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12380
Dermody, J., & Hanmerlloyd, S. (2005). Safeguarding the Future of Democracy: (Re)Building Young People’s Trust in Parliamentary Politics. Journal of Political Marketing, 4(2–3), 115–133. https://doi.org/10.1300/J199v04n02_06
Dodoc, M.M., Cojoacă, D.M. and Stănescu, M.S.,2023. Assessment of Factors that Motivate Young People to Volunteer. In: R. Pamfilie, V. Dinu, C. Vasiliu, D. Pleșea, L. Tăchiciu eds. 2023. 9th BASIQ International Conference on New Trends in Sustainable Business and Consumption. Constanța, Romania, 8-10 June 2023. Bucharest: ASE, pp. 51-59.
European Parliament Press Release (29/10/2019). Final turnout data for 2019 European elections announced. European Parliament. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20191029IPR65301/final-turnout-data-for-2019-european-elections-announced.
Garai-Fodor, M., Varga, J., & Csiszárik-Kocsir, Á. (2021). Correlation between Generation Z in Hungary and the Motivating Factors to Do Volunteer Work in a Value-Based Approach. Sustainability, 13(20), 11519. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011519
Hauser-Oppelmayer, A., & Korac, S. (2024). Why minors volunteer—A mixed-method study of motivational factors in underage Generation Z volunteers in Europe. Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing, 29(2), e1847. https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.1847
Leininger, A., & Meijers, M. J. (2021). Do Populist Parties Increase Voter Turnout? Evidence From Over 40 Years of Electoral History in 31 European Democracies. Political Studies, 69(3), 665-685. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321720923257
Van Biezen, I., Mair, P. And Poguntke, T. (2012), Going, going, . . . gone? The decline of party membership in contemporary Europe. European Journal of Political Research, 51: 24-56. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2011.01995.x