Between “CV Builder” and “Genuine” Activist: The Many Faces of Youth Civic Engagement in Serbia
Between “CV Builder” and “Genuine” Activist: The Many Faces of Youth Civic Engagement in Serbia

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explorethe characteristics and relativeimportance of civic engagement for young members of civil society organisationsin Serbia. This article is exploratory in character and is based on qualitativemethodology.Youth engagement is observed through the theoretical lens of thelifecourse approach. The questions addressedbythe paper are as follows: How doyoung people perceive their civic engagement? What motivates their participation?How does this engagement relate to other aspects of their lifecourse?The method used here is narrative analysis of 20 semi-structured interviewsconducted with young volunteers and members of civil society organisationsin Serbia selected through theoretical sampling.The key finding is that there isarange of motivations and accompanying strategies – from the purely idealisticto the highly instrumental. The majority of our respondents displayed a mixedtype of motivation, successfully combiningactivities aimed at protectingthe “socialgood” with thosethat contribute to the achievement of personal goals. Motivation,however,tends to vary between the different types of organisations, professionaland grassroots. Engagement in professional organisations is more frequentlyinstrumental and, in contrast, grassroots organisations typically attract “genuine”,value-driven activists.

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