Between Digital Empowerment and Political Exclusion: How Members of Youth Political Organizations in Poland Understand Digital Civic Participation

This paper presents the results of an empirical study on youth political organizations in Poland, focusing on their perceptions of citizen participation and the role of digital technologies in contemporary political engagement. The research examines how young political activists understand and evaluate traditional and digital forms of participation, as well as the opportunities and risks associated with digital participation in terms of social inclusion and exclusion. Using a mixed-methods research design, the study combines qualitative and exploratory approaches. The empirical material is based on focus group interviews (FGIs) conducted with members of youth wings of political parties and independent youth political organizations, complemented by in-depth semi-structured interviews with selected activists and organizational leaders. This methodological triangulation allows for capturing both collective discourses and individual experiences related to digital participation. This paper also critically examines how youth political organizations in Poland conceptualize citizen participation in the context of digitalization, drawing on theories of deliberative democracy and the digital divide. While digital technologies are often framed as instruments for broadening participation and strengthening democratic deliberation, this study investigates how young political activists themselves assess these claims in practice. The paper contributes to debates on youth participation, digital democracy, and political inclusion by providing empirically grounded insights from the Polish context.