ABSTRACT
Youth party activists play a significant role in policy advocacy and electoral mobilisation in political parties. Most political parties have an established youth arm for youth leadership and political decision making. However, the political executive and organisational culture of the party does not promise an enabling environment for youth and their perspectives. This chapter examines the challenges, opportunities and experiences of youth in party politics in Trinidad and Tobago. Through in-depth interviews, it explores the personal accounts of executive officials in youth arms in relation to issues of leadership, youth empowerment and political organisational culture. It then examines the ways in which party structures impact the potential for youth leadership and their agency, while illustrating the political struggles and resistances that youth practice in the party, showing the intersection of politics, power and youth.
