There is limited research and evidence regarding programs to effectively support youth participation in political parties. While youth political party wings may provide an entry point for youth to advance within political parties, it is unclear if and when party youth wings may serve as a meaningful avenue through which young people may heighten their political influence. This section includes existing resources related to supporting youth participation in political parties. 

Taking Wing - Pathways to Participation and Leadership Offered by Political Party Youth Wings (Summary Document, Preliminary Research Findings)

There is growing acknowledgement that politics and participation are integral to the process of sustainable development. However, young people face many barriers when it comes to political participation, while also being disproportionately affected by some of the world’s toughest development challenges. Helping this demographic group find peaceful ways to take part in decisions affecting their welfare is a growing imperative. To assist in meeting this need, CEPPS is working to better understand the avenues for youth political participation and leadership, and how support can be delivered.  As part of a broader research effort funded by the United States Agency for International Development, CEPPS/NDI examined the role political party youth wings can play in amplifying the voice and influence of young people. The empirical process included reviewing existing literature, interviewing political party leaders and youth activists, analyzing political party assistance programs and speaking with program implementers. The research concludes that youth wings can offer young people a formative political experience, in certain circumstances, and tailored assistance can have some influence on the agency of youth wing members and their enabling environment.  However, the entire picture is rather complex, given the political dynamics and changing incentives found in most multi-party systems. These research findings will need to be combined with existing lessons and learning about how political parties develop, as they simultaneously engage in political competition and manage unavoidable power struggles, both externally and internally. 

The Role of Youth in Political Entities in Kosovo

This report presents information on the role of youth in political entities and youth organizations in Kosovo as seen from the perspectives of civil society organizations, members of political party youth wings, and the broader youth population. The information presented in this report was collected through phone and in-person surveys with youth.

Pathways into Political Party Membership: Case Studies of Hong Kong Youth

This article explores and conceptualizes the individual mobilization processes into political party membership of a sample of young people in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous and semi-democratic region under Chinese sovereignty where political parties are relatively underdeveloped. Based on life history interviews with 23 young party members, the author found that the mobilization of young people into party membership comprises three different steps. The author also found that not all young party members went through the same order of steps. In total, three orders of steps are identified, which create three different paths into party membership. Lastly, this article found that each mobilization path is shaped by a specific set of macro-, meso-, and individual level influences