‘Youth, EU Literacy and Democratization: Evaluating the Portuguese Z Generation Literacy on the European Union’

Recent electoral surveys in Portugal demonstrate a conservative youth turn. The growth of the Portuguese populist radical right party Chega [Enough] is partially explained by anti-systemic electoral preferences of young voters aged between 18 and 34 years old (Expresso, 2025). This paper explores the Portuguese youth’s conservative turn by addressing it in association with the Portuguese Z Generation's literacy levels about the European Union and its perceptions about the EU’s role in advancing Portuguese democracy. The paper addresses the challenge of increasing Euroscepticism and misinformation about the EU in European societies, empowered by the rise of populist radical right parties and movements. The study builds on the belief that Euroscepticism, extremism, and populism are “intersecting phenomena” in urgent need of research and analysis (Harmsen, 2010). The Portuguese Z Generation's literacy levels about the European Union (EU) and its perceptions in advancing Portuguese democracy have not been sufficiently explored by specialized literature. The relevance of younger generations, particularly Portuguese college undergraduate and graduate students, in the establishment of a relationship between Europeanization and democratization is particularly underexplored. Existing literature on the historical and political association between Europeanization and democratization in Portugal adopts almost exclusively a top-down approach, privileging the role of national elites and formal institutions in promoting such an articulation. There is a need for more studies adopting a bottom-up approach to address the relationship. Our paper builds on the theoretical framework of sociological institutionalism associated with a mixed-methods methodological approach. The novelty and relevance of the paper derive from the investigation and conveyance of preliminary responses to the following insufficiently explored core research question: i. What are the main variables influencing how the Portuguese Z Generation understands the European Union's role in furthering Portuguese democracy? The study analyzes how ordinary citizens, namely Portuguese university students of Generation Z, internalize European norms and how these perceptions influence democratic engagement.