Rozvoj občianskej participácie mladých ľudí vo východnej a strednej Európe
Development of Young People’s Civic Participation in East Central Europe

Summary/Abstract: Development of Young People’s Civic Participation in East Central Europe. Participation is a concept constantly recurring in social research, especially in youth studies. The public assumptions about the pressing social problems of the day affect the way youth participation is understood and developed, as well as the structure and scope of involvement granted to the new generation. While after the Second World War the participation of young people was conceptualised rather passively, as their integration into the existing structure of society through internalising the dominant social norms, fifty years later a more pro-active understanding has come to the fore. From this perspective participation is the process of becoming an active citizen, of taking an active role in shaping the social environment at local, national and particularly European level. The practice of youth participation also changed in the course of time, modifying the scope and forms of young people’s involvement in social life. The development of youth civic participation in East Central Europe is an interesting case for analysis, since it has significant policy implications. This paper starts with a review of the models and structures of young people’s public involvement during the communist regimes in the region, it then proceeds with a study of their transformation in post-communism and finishes with a discussion of the barriers in front of young people’s influence over the course of their countries’ transitions to democracy. Sociológia 2002 Vol 34 (No.: 47-58)

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