Varieties of Youth Civic and Political Engagement in the South East Mediterranean: A Comparative Analysis

This paper comparatively analyses the research carried out in six South-East Mediterranean countries (Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, the Occupied Palestinian Territories [OPT], Lebanon and Egypt) on the transformative potential of youth civic and political engagement. The report is divided into three main sections; the first is devoted to understanding the structural factors that favour and/or constrain youth participation in their polities and in their respective organizations. Here the analysis is based on understanding how gender, class, “race”/ethnicity and urban/rural differences impact participation. The second section is concerned with analysing the different types of youth activism and forms of youth mobilization. The third part analyses the transformative role of organized youth, in different areas, such as their role in influencing public policies on employment and migration.