Leadership in Youth Organizations and its Political Engagement: A Qualitative Study

Sammanfattning

Background: The interest in politics is on a declining trend among young people in Sweden. In particular the interest regarding formal political engagement, meanwhile there is a growing preference for digital activism and issue-based movements are stronger than party affirmation. Ideology is central for these characteristics in the general structure of political beliefs and therefore manifests itself in all segments of the strategy of the organizations. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how leadership in political youth organizations is affected by organizational structure and ideology, and how the leadership is affecting engagement in voluntary terms. Method: This study conducted a qualitative research approach of two cases. Empirical data were gathered by conducting semi-structured interviews with eight different participants, the chairperson and three members from each political youth organization. Thereafter, a combination of abductive and inductive approach was used for a thematic analysis of the gathered data case by case as well as a comparative analysis. Conclusion: The ideological foundation of the youth organizations is the main factor for the differences in strategies to engage individuals in politics. Youth organizations' goal is to engage individuals to make societal and political changes, but depending on the researched cases, their ideological differences will determine the strategies they implement.