Three Modes of Participation: Nuancing Minority Newcomers’ Access to Civic Youth Organizations

Considerable attention has been paid to promote young people’s participation in civic and political organizations. Despite organizations’ overarching assertion to be inclusive to all youth, participation is still low and unevenly distributed. To explore this disparity between organizational aims and participating youth, 85 young participants from 19 Danish civic youth organizations were interviewed. Based on a micro-sociological analysis of participants’ own everyday practices, three distinctly different participatory modes were identified: (a) outward-facing, (b) inward-facing and (c) managerial modes. Against this backdrop, organizations’ initiatives to give access to participation for newcomers who represent minorities in the given context are explored. The analysis shows that accessibility to these three participatory modes varies significantly—from quite open to nearly closed. Findings point to the importance of future studies and organizational endeavours to focus not solely on participation in numbers but also on what modes of participation minority newcomers have access to within the organizations.