Anlar, B. 2022. Bridging the Divide: Strengthening Partnerships Between Young People and Political Parties. Washington D.C.: National Democratic Institute.

Increasing political participation among youth has been a longstanding component of democracy and governance assistance. Previous programming has heavily focused on strengthening youth participation in traditional, formal processes and institutions. This has included efforts to equip young people with political leadership skills and strengthen party youth wings or other methods of party outreach to youth. This type of programming is most likely to appeal to young people who are predisposed to engage in formal processes and institutions. Research suggests that increasingly, this is at odds with the forms of participation that are most likely to appeal to the majority of young people. Bridging the divide between young people and political parties requires new strategies that recognize young people's legitimate concerns about formal institutions and the ways in which young men and women want to organize politically. It also requires political parties to meet young people where they are. In response to these emerging trends, a new NDI initiative is examining:

• Youth disaffection and its potential implications for democracy support;

• The contextual factors to consider in identifying strategic entry points for meaningful collaboration between young people and political institutions;

• The types of actors best suited to serve as interlocutors between young people and political institutions; and

• The types of interventions and/or programming that could help bridge the gap between young people and political institutions

The initiative produces new guidance that assists youth-led organizations and democracy practitioners in better bridging the gap between young people and democratic institutions.