Politiskt deltagande och engagemang bland unga : En kvalitativ studie om politiskt engagemang, deltagande och tillit bland ungdomar

Sammanfattning

This study examines youth political engagement and the multiple factors shaping their participation. It aims to deepen the understanding of young individuals' relationship with politics by exploring how trust, political confidence, and socioeconomic conditions influence their engagement. The study is guided by three core questions: how youth political engagement is changing, how it is expressed, and how factors such as socioeconomic background, gender, age, and cultural capital affect political socialization and participation. Using a qualitative approach, the research analyzes interviews with 16 young individuals, structuring findings thematically around engagement, trust, forms of participation, and emotional-political expression. The study draws upon sociological theories, including social capital, cultural capital and habitus (Bourdieu). Findings reveal a generational shift in political engagement, where many young people rely on informal or digital forms of activism, such as social media and petitions. While interest in politics remains high, traditional participation is often hindered by low trust in institutions, perceived complexity, or lack of emotional connection. The way youths speak about politics, marked by insecurity, cynicism, or confident idealism, is closely tied to their access to political discourse in the home, their social environment, and their symbolic and linguistic capital. The study concludes that understanding youth political engagement requires not only acknowledging evolving modes of participation but also recognizing how social and emotional factors shape their access, trust, and motivation to act.