The Vital Role of Youth Organizations in Shaping Youth Participation in Nine European Countries

Abstract

This article examines factors that influence the action repertoires of youth organizations (YOs) across nine European countries and their roles within the nonprofit and voluntary sector. We insist on the connectedness of various forms of engagement, challenging the traditional divide between volunteering/nonprofit activities and political mobilization. Through a theory-driven analysis, we show how organizational structure and outside support impact YOs’ forms of action. We find cross-national variations and demonstrate that YOs’ access to resources and strategic choices are central in explaining their modes of engagement. Those with substantial institutionalized support (notably funding from state authorities and the EU) are less likely to engage in conflictual activities, whereas those with higher levels of autonomy and grassroots activism are more inclined toward unconventional actions. These results call attention to how funding and formalization can steer civil society toward low-conflict engagement, potentially depoliticizing youth activism. They have broader implications for understanding how structural conditions shape civic agency and the democratic potential of the nonprofit and voluntary sector.