Young People in Old Politics? Demographic Ageing and Young People’s Party Membership. A Comparative Study of Young Party Members in Two Social Democratic Parties

The paper addresses young members’ motives to join a party and their activities using a sample of two social democratic parties, the German SPD and the Israeli Labor Party. Party membership has become a matter of old people. But young party members are not only in a minority position. We can expect that they have also different motives to participate. They are still in an early phase of their professional life. Some join a party because of ideology and to find like-minded others, but others plan a political or professional career. It is expected that these motives influence party activities as well. Based on 20 interviews with young members of two parties, their motives and activities are analyzed. The interviews show no negative attitudes against elder members in general, but some reservations frustrating experiences. Some manage to connect their party activity with their profession; this also impacts their party activity.