ABSTRACT
Discussions about citizenship and empowerment often hinge upon the contribution of young people to different aspects of civic life, either as active volunteers or as members of organisations. Civic participation is nearly always regarded as a “good thing” whether it is in the context of the development of the Third Sector between state and market or in the context of the revival of “civil society” as a layer of associational life between the government and the people. The Nordic youth, it appears, were always civic participants and well integrated compared with youth elsewhere, but the other Western European countries are catching up with them. Participation and integration was also traditionally high in Central-Western Europe and there it has tended to increase. In Eastern Europe there has been the most decline recorded on 7 out of our 9 indicators of civic participation.
