The future is the youths responsibility

How does political engagement and activism look when it comes to the German Youth? And how does the German youth differ from the Swedish youth?

Democracy in a country doesn’t work without the population. But what happens when individuals political choices are based on a “must” rather than a will? Political engagement among the German Youth does partially look bright. They go to demonstrations and often discuss different world events with each other. However it turned out, after interviewing some German teenagers that most of them don’t consider themselves politically active. Even though the commitment is there, some believe that the contribution is difficult due to the political system.

From what the German teenagers said about political involvement, we feel that there is a greater obstacle for them to influence and be involved in the politics that Germany has. They were explicitly told that they have a rather complex voting system, in the form of several different elections that are voted on. It includes both federal parliamentary elections, state resident elections and regional elections. The electoral system in Germany belongs to a group called mixed, the mixture consists of some leadership meetings that are elected in single-member constituencies and another part in multi-member constituencies. In addition, they also have different mandates in the regions that need to be voted on. "It feels like there are elections every day," there was a youth in Potsdam who said. Despite the fact that Germany also has some party groups for young people, just like Sweden, many young people feel that their voice feels both small and lacks any major significance. This is due to the large population and the complex system.

Unlike Germany, we in Sweden have elections every four years. All Swedish citizens over the age of 18 can participate and contribute by voting. During this voting process, both the Riksdag, the County Council and the municipality vote at the same time. Which simplifies and makes it easier for an adult citizen to both vote and be able to influence society. We also have several youth unions and other political associations that you can choose to become a member of even if you are not of legal age. Although these tools are available to become politically active, there is a clear majority that is still not. 5% of today's youth who have not yet reached the age of eighteen are members of some form of politically engaged association. But at the same time, it turns out that more than half of us young people write political opinions on the internet and on other social platforms. The lack of political commitment probably lies mainly in different societal norms and the culture of silence that exists when it comes to such topics.

In general, the German youth describe that they stay up to date on national and international events by watching, reading and listening to the news. The sources of information these young people use the most are youtube and also the German newspaper PNN (Potsdamer neueste nachrichten). Which is a regional daily newspaper published by Dieter von Holtzbrinck Medien GmbH. A majority of these young people also use TV news and the radio to stay up to date. In addition, some people usually talk about and discuss news with their friends.

In an interview with 17-year-old Jula, she describes herself as politically interested but not as politically active. "Something that has always engaged me is climate politics, before corona I participated in a very friendly demonstration." she says. The demonstration Jula participated in was Friday For the Future, which aims at the climate crisis. By attending these demonstrations, she makes her voice heard, for her desire to change something she considers problematic in the world. This, in other words, indicates political activity. I explained to Jula that this actually made her, at least in part, politically active and then asked a follow-up question about why her view of her own activity was so negative. She laughed a little lightly and shrugged. "I don't know, because what you're saying is actually true . But I don’t feel so active, as I neither belong to any political youth group nor do everything in my power to make myself heard, ”she says. She explains that the difficulties are based on Germany's complex political system but also on Germany's population.

Furthermore, on a question about the development of European politics, u.n had a negative view with the motivation that "If development had been good, an ongoing war would not have taken place." says u.n. In another interview with 18-year-old Tim, we asked if his commitment and activity has changed recently, given the situation in Europe. He thinks for a moment and says he does not know. "This has rather made me more confused about what I can do, maybe even a little afraid to dare to make my voice heard during this period," says Tim. He expresses extreme concern about the future of politics. He further explains that some German parties have become more extreme, these parties have thus, according to him, drawn even more to their respective edges. However, these young people are still politically involved. They do this by, for example, attending fundraising events, with the aim of raising money to help Ukraine. But also by making his voice heard about the dissatisfaction with the war at demonstrations.

Although all the young people in the world may not show much political interest, we know that their will to always express their opinions and values ​​will remain. These interviews gave us a significant insight into the political commitment and activity of the German youth. It is therefore possible to ensure that the future of politics is not lost. There is a lack of political activity to some extent, but the will shown by the German youth through their commitment gives us an assurance that politics will continue to improve. We must therefore begin to trust that the young people of this generation will take responsibility for politics in the future, when their time comes, and probably also improve it.