How do adolescents experience europeanized/globalized politics? Which problems, topics, and actors are perceived as “political”? Which conventional and unconventional forms of political participation are recognized and practised by young people?

The project “GLO-PART” emanated from the point of view that political processes of Globalization and Europeanization affect the perceptions and interpretations of the political. Moreover, these specific perceptions of politics (topics, processes, levels, and actors) define the participatory opportunities for adolescents.

The project investigated youth perceptions (i. e. orientations and opinions) of politics from the perspective of inclusion/exclusion. In order to analyse the processes and politics of inclusion and exclusion we focussed on the concept of belonging, which encompasses at least two essential dimensions: One subjective – how do students conceive of their own belonging and the belonging of others – and one political – how does politics regulate belonging and how are rights and obligations distributed along the boundaries of belonging.

The project was conducted in close cooperation with three schools located in different social and regional contexts (city, small town, and countryside in Eastern, middle and Western Austria), methodologically building on peer research (students conducting focus groups and interviews with 16 to 18 year old contemporaries) in cooperation with and under guidance of experienced scholars.

This project has been completed.