Discourse in Youth Organizations Functioning in Poland: Constructing a Platform for Dialogue

Our research explores the degree to which youth organizations serve as platforms for open dialogue and examines how their discourse aligns with established principles of dialogism, as articulated by van Dijk (2001), Bakhtin (1982), and the 'authentic turn' concept proposed by Ostrowska (2017). In conducting this study, we anticipated finding variability in communication styles, expecting that some organizations—particularly those affiliated with the Polish Council of Youth Organizations (PROM)—would promote more inclusive, dialogic interactions. Conversely, we suspected that groups outside PROM, especially nationalist organizations like the All-Polish Youth, might display more exclusionary or ideologically driven messaging. Our expectations were rooted in the existing literature and in our preliminary observations collected during the analysis of data from the research project we were part of. Using qualitative content analysis of 696 documents from six organizations across various media, our findings largely confirmed our expectations. PROM groups tended to foster open, diverse communication, whereas nationalist groups often produced messages reinforcing exclusion and in-group identity. Many posts superficially promoted tolerance but, upon closer inspection, displayed monologue, ideological rigidity, and resistance to opposing views. A surprising pattern emerged: despite claims of promoting dialogue, many organizations’ online communication practices revealed a paradox—what was professed as openness was more insular. This gap highlights the complex reality of organizational communication, indicating that many youth groups fall short of genuine dialogic engagement despite public declarations of inclusivity.