Depoliticisation, Distrust, and the Conservative Youth Turn: Rethinking Democratic Citizenship

While populism and polarisation dominate current research, depoliticisation remains underexplored. Studies on unpolitics, antipolitics, and apolitical withdrawal highlight political crises, institutional distrust, and elite hostility, but scholarship often treats them separately. There is an urgent need for an integrated framework linking depoliticisation to democratic participation, value shifts, and – specifically – youth citizenship. At the same time, scholars observe a puzzling conservative turn among younger generations in Europe and the US. Rather than leading progressive change, many young people — especially young men — are increasingly drawn to conservative and radical-right movements, challenging assumptions about their democratic roles. This raises pressing questions: how do young people learn, perform, and contest citizenship when politics is framed as technical inevitability or 'common sense'? Is this shift a backlash against depoliticisation? Does it stem from cultural insecurity, gendered socialisation, or economic precarity? Do populist unpolitics – such as war, conspiracy, and religion – offer youth a sense of clarity and belonging denied by technocratic neutrality? This Workshop offers a vital space to connect conceptual debates on depoliticisation and democratic participation, empirical puzzles like youth conservatism, intergenerational divides, digital mobilisation, new modes of participation, and democratic education, and normative issues around representation, legitimacy, and accountability. By bridging political theory, youth studies, communication, and comparative politics, it aims to develop a coherent research agenda explaining why a generation expected to drive progress is instead turning rightward — and what this means for the future of citizenship and democracy.

• Abou-Chadi, T., et al. (2024). A gendered far-right wave among young voters in Western Europe. European Journal of Politics and Gender. https://doi.org/10.1332/251510824X17278709394262 • Dean, J. (2014), Tales of the Apolitical. Political Studies, 62: 2: 452-467. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9248.12035 • Milošević, Đ., Klüver, H., Kuhn, T., & Rodon, T. (2025). The youth gender gap in support for the far right. West European Politics. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2025.2465494 • Mitteregger, R., & Kritzinger, S. (2024). An Age–Period–Cohort analysis on electoral support in Western Europe (1961–2021). Electoral Studies, 88, 102791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102791 • Off, G., et al. (2025). Is there a gender youth gap in far-right voting and cultural attitudes? Descriptive evidence from the EU. European Journal of Politics and Gender. https://doi.org/10.1332/251510825X17411853658496 • Robinson, E. (2023), The Politics of Unpolitics. The Political Quarterly, 94: 306-313. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.13270 • Schedler, A. (Ed.). (2016). The end of politics? Explorations into modern antipolitics. Springer. • Taggart, P. (2018). Populism and ‘unpolitics’. In: Populism and the Crisis of Democracy Routledge. pp. 79-87. • van der Brug, W., Gidengil, E., & Krewel, M. (2025). The kids are Alt right? Age, authoritarian attitudes and far-right support in Europe. West European Politics. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2025.2465493

1: Is depoliticisation changing how young people learn/imagine/practice citizenship compared to older generations?
2: Why are young men drawn to right-wing views, and how do their views differ from young women’s?
3: How do unpolitics/antipolitics offer youth alternative ways to belong and engage democratically?
4: How does depoliticisation reshape youth political socialisation, education, and trust in institutions?
5: What interventions can restore political contest and help youth voice and mobilise democratically?

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