YOUTH CIVIC

post-transition period and draws upon dozens of
interviews conducted with youth politicians and
activists. Zooming in at the ground level provides a
more concrete understanding of youth political participation.
It also offers an authentic context from
which to identify lessons learned and best practices,
even though the Egyptian and Tunisian transitions
have since taken different directions and represent
significantly different political environments. While
the focus is on a specific region, the implications for
building venues for genuine youth participation in
governance and political life are universally applicable.
In Egypt and Tunisia, young people engage politically
both within formal structures and through
informal channels. The majority of youth still view
formal politics with antipathy and contempt and
prefer to engage on governance issues through civil
society activism or informal political activity.
MANOEUVRING WITHIN THE
FORMAL POLITICAL ARENA
In Egypt and Tunisia, political parties—both old
and new, State sanctioned and independent—are
perceived to function along vertical lines, with little
horizontal decision-making or idea generation.
Egyptian youth have not been integrated into party
structures, as few parties have given any thought to
including them in committees or creating a youth
wing. Most youth in political parties have been left to
fend for themselves, which for some has had its own
appeal for the autonomy it has allowed. Within the
realm of political activism, youth have placed greater
emphasis on the importance of protest politics and
have focused less on building structures, messaging,
or positioning themselves within the party.
In comparison with Egyptian youth, young people
in Tunisia have been better integrated into party
structures. Nearly all political parties have engaged
with the youth issue, but this is primarily because
Tunisian youth have been adamant in demanding a
seat at the table. As a result, most parties have some
youth representatives on their central committees
or have a youth wing. While this structure tends to
function along hierarchical lines, it also offers a political
ladder to climb within the system. This translates
into a political activism among youth that centres
on preparing for party congresses, developing policy
platforms and messaging, and campaigning for a
greater youth voice internally. It has also meant that
youth activists in Tunisia are less disaffected than
their counterparts in Egypt.
SEIZING INFORMAL
POLITICAL SPACE
Most youth political activism in Egypt and Tunisia, and
indeed globally, has taken place though informal channels,
with much of the activity occurring in the civil
society arena. Young people have a huge presence in
this sphere, ranging from youth movements with tens
of thousands of members to individual activists who
might be lawyers, labourers, bloggers or graffiti artists.
Most youth-led civil society organizations focus on
putting the citizen at the centre of the political process.
In Egypt, many groups have worked to raise
awareness of political and socioeconomic rights. In
Tunisia, there has been greater emphasis on playing
a direct role in establishing monitoring bodies or
watchdog groups in an effort to ensure the accountability
of the Parliament, the constitution-drafting
committee and the election commission.
83