Young people are rejecting political party involvement

Significance The existing strategies of governments, civil society groups and international donors to increase youth electoral registration have had limited success, in part because of a strong sense, especially among young males, that mainstream parties do not represent them. Impacts Less personal engagement with specific parties and causes will create an increasingly fluid political and civil society landscape. The lack of a coherent set of youth attitudes in many countries makes the formation of effective “youth” parties unlikely. Civil society groups and charities will lose agency if young people reduce levels of regular engagement in terms of time and donations.