Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Promoting active youth: evidence from Polish NGO’s civic education programme in Eastern Europe

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of International Relations and Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Civic education, i.e. activities aimed to teach citizens of recipient countries basic values, knowledge, and skills relating to democracy, has become a popular form of promoting democracy by NGOs from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. This paper examines whether democracy promotion programmes, such as civic education, implemented by NGOs from Central and Eastern European countries towards young people in former post-communist countries affect participants’ civic engagement and political participation. We test the impact of one of the civic education programmes on young people from Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation. The analysis of the programme and the results of the survey conducted among the civic education programme’s former participants from 2004 to 2014 contribute to a better understanding how youth participation can be built through mechanism of knowledge created by outside actors. The paper reveals some potential of programmes focused on educating young people in diffusing democratic ideas and behaviour in the region; however, it also shows the limitations of methodology used to evaluate the impact of democracy promotion efforts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The terms ‘young democracies’, ‘new democracies’, or ‘third-wave democracies’ are used to contrast long-established Western ‘old democracies’, and refer to a group of countries that underwent successful democratic transitions during the widespread, international push towards democracy, called the ‘third wave of democratisation’ (Huntington 1991). Thus, the term ‘young democracies’ refers to those countries from regions such as Southern Europe, Latin America, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa that today are successfully consolidated democracies.

  2. Member states that joined the EU before 2002 committed to meeting Official Development Assistance (ODA) aid commitments to reach 0.7% of ODA/Gross National Income (GNI), and member states that joined after 2002 to reach 0.33% of ODA/GNI within the timeframe of the 2030 Agenda as stated in Council Conclusions on ‘A New Global Partnership for Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development after 2015’, 9241/15, of 26 May, 2015.

  3. Although it is a common term, there is no universal definition of youth. We accept a definition provided by the Youth Development Index, according to which ‘youth is a period of transition during which children and adolescents gradually come to be recognized as adults. Falling between childhood and adulthood, it is a period of semi-dependency during which young people try to achieve personal autonomy while still remaining dependent on their parents or the state’ (Commonwealth 2016, p. 7).

  4. An interview with Victoria Takacs from the Foundation for Democratic Youth (14 July 2015).

  5. For our study, we interviewed representatives of all organisations from Visegrad countries that are actively engaged in democracy assistance in other countries and belong to national associations that are members of the CONCORD (Confederation for Cooperation of Relief and Development NGOs) association dealing with humanitarian and development aid.

  6. The People in Need Project in the Czech Republic may serve as an example as a programme directed towards young people from elsewhere, in this case from Georgia. Within this project, more than 250 Georgian schools received educational toolkits consisting of documentary films and didactic materials used to teach students being active and responsible citizens. The movies, which were on controversial topic not discussed enough within the broader society, such as human rights, exclusion of some groups, served as starting points for discussion and interactive games afterwards.

  7. As an example of the programme in form of knowledge contest may serve a programme implemented since 2003 by Czech NGOs EUROPEUM and financed by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Visegrad Fund—the contest motivate students to learn about the idea of European integration, as well as political, social, and security issues, and their knowledge was tested in two rounds: an online test and an analytical essay on the topic that the organiser provided.

  8. We chose the Study Tours to Poland (STP) programme implemented by the ‘Borussia’ Foundation, Leaders for Change, and funded by Polish-American Freedom Foundation.

  9. See the STP programme website at http://www.studytours.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=54&lang=en [last accessed on 2 Jan 2017].

  10. Invitations to participate in the study were sent electronically to the e-mail addresses provided by former participants during the programme’s recruitment process. Unfortunately, reaching participants in the first rounds of the study turned out to be problematic mainly because some e-mail addresses were inactive at the time of the invitation.

  11. It should be noted that data on political engagement were included only in CIVED 2001, making it impossible to compare it with the CIVED 2009 edition of the civic education study. Also, there have been differences in the age groups examined: e.g. 14-year-olds in CIVED 2001 and 19–32-year-olds in CIVED 2009. The total number of students from Russia who participated in polling in 1999 for CIVED 2001 was 1787 (Schulz and Sibberns 2004); in CIVED 2009 this number reached 4295 people (Schulz et al. 2001).

  12. Polling took place in January 2010 in Russia and in December 2009 in Ukraine.

  13. YDI is a composite index which allows rating young people’s progress in 183 countries. The present index consisted of five dimensions of youth development: education; health and well-being; employment and opportunity; political participation; and civic participation (Commonwealth 2016, p. 13).

  14. The Ukrainians is an online project aimed at spreading Ukrainian culture and entrepreneurship. The main idea is to promote young, active people. More information about the project is available at http://theukrainians.org/about/ (in Ukrainian).

  15. SOS Crimea is a social organisation founded by volunteers in 2014 as a result of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The aim of SOS Crimea is mainly to highlight the illegality of the occupation of Crimea, to maintain connections with Ukraine, and to consolidate Ukrainian society. More information about the organisation is available at http://krymsos.com/en/about/krym-sos/ (in English).

References

  • Abs, Hermann J., and Ruud Veldhuis. 2006. Indicators on Active Citizenship for Democracy—The Social, Cultural and Economic Domain, paper by order of the Council of Europe for the CRELL-Network on Active Citizenship for Democracy at the European Commission’s Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy. http://www.pedocs.de/volltexte/2009/1879/pdf/CoE_Abs_Veldhuis_2006_D_A.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Almond, Gabriel A., and Sidney Verba. 1963. The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes in Five Western Democracies. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armingeon, K. 2007. Political Participation and Associational Involvement. In Citizenship and Involvement in European Democracies: A Comparative Analysis, ed. J.W. van Deth, J.R. Montero, and A. Westholm, 358–383. London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnstein, Sherry R. 1969. A Ladder of Citizen Participation. Journal of the American Planning Association 35 (4): 216–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banks, James A., Cherry A. Mcgee, Carlos E. Banks, Carole L. Cortés, Merry M. Hahn, Kogila A. Merryfield, Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu Moodley, Audrey Osler, Caryn Park, and Walter C. Parker. 2004. Democracy and Diversity: Principles and Concepts for Educating Citizens in a Global Age. Seattle: Center for Multicultural Education, University of Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernhard, Michael. 1993. Civil Society and Democratic Transition in East Central Europe. Political Science Quarterly 108 (2): 307–326.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berti, Benedetta, Kristina Mikulova, and Nicu Popescu (eds.). 2015. Democratization in EU Foreign Policy. New Member States as Drivers of Democracy Promotion. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brinks, Daniel, and Michael Coppedge. 2006. Diffusion is No Illusion: Neighbor Emulation in the Third Wave of Democracy. Comparative Political Studies 39 (7): 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunce, Valerie J., and Sharon L. Wolchik. 2006. International Diffusion and Postcommunist Electoral Revolutions. Communist and Post-Communist Studies 39 (3): 283–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnell, Peter. 2000. Democracy Assistance: International Co-operation for Democratization. London and Portland: Frank Cass Co. Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, David A. 2008. Why We Vote: How Schools and Communities Shape Our Civic Life. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, David A., and Richard G. Niemi. 2016. Testing Civics: State-Level Civic Education Requirements and Political Knowledge. American Political Science Review 110 (3): 495–511.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carothers, Thomas. 1999. Aiding Democracy Abroad: The Learning Curve. Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carothers, Thomas. 2004. Critical Mission: Essays on Democracy Promotion. Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carothers, Thomas, and Saskia Brechenmacher. 2014. Closing Space. Democracy and Human Rights Support under Fire. Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

    Google Scholar 

  • Checkoway, Barry. 1997. Core Concepts for Community Change. Journal of Community Practice 4 (1): 11–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Checkoway, Barry. 2011. What is Youth Participation? Children and Youth Services Review 33 (2): 340–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Checkoway, Barry, Tanene Allison, and Colleen Montoya. 2005. Youth Participation in Public Policy at the Municipal Level. Children and Youth Services Review 27: 1149–1162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Commonwealth. 2016. Global Youth Development Index and Report 2016. http://cmydiprod.uksouth.cloudapp.azure.com/sites/default/files/2016-10/2016%20Global%20Youth%20Development%20Index%20and%20Report.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Cooley, Alexander. 2015. Authoritarianism Goes Global. Journal of Democracy 26 (3): 49–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coppedge, Michael, Lucía Tiscornia, and Stafan I. Lindberg. 2015. Varieties of Democratic Diffusion: Colonial Networks. https://v-dem.net/media/filer_public/ed/c7/edc75bd8-96fd-4955-b17d-5949e6457e17/v-dem_working_paper_2015_2.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Dahl, Robert A. 1989. Democracy and Its Critics. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Weerd Marga, Mireille Gemmeke, Josine Rigter, and Coen van Rij. 2005. Indicators and Options for Monitoring Active Citizenship and Citizenship Education, final report. http://www.pedz.uni-mannheim.de/daten/edz-b/gdbk/05/indicator_monitoring_active.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Delgrado, Melvin, and Lee Staples. 2008. Youth-Led Community Organizing. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deželan, Tomaž. 2015. Young People and Democratic Life in Europe. What next after the 2014 European elections? European Youth Forum. https://www.youthup.eu/app/uploads/2015/11/YFJ_YoungPeopleAndDemocraticLifeInEurope_B1_web-9e4bd8be22.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Diamond, Larry. 1992. Promoting Democracy. Foreign Policy 87 (1): 25–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diuk, Nadia. 2012. The Next Generation in Russia, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan: Youth, Politics, Identity, and Change. Plymouth and Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diuk, Nadia. 2013. Youth as an Agent for Change: The Next Generation in Ukraine. Demokratizatsiya 21 (2): 179–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eberhard, Laurence. 2002. The Council of Europe and youth. Thirty years of experience, Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/youth/Source/Resources/Publications/2002_CoE_Youth_30_years_experience_en.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • EC (European Commission). 2012 The Youth in Action Programme in 2012. http://ec.europa.eu/youth/library/programme/jea2012execution20pe01_en.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • EC (European Commission). 2015. Flash Eurobarometer 408 European Youth. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_408_en.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • EC (European Commission). 2016. EU Youth Report 2015, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. http://ec.europa.eu/youth/library/reports/youth-report-2015_en.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Ekiert, Grzegorz, Jan Kubik, and Milada Anna Vachudova. 2007. Democracy in the Post-Communist World: An Unending Quest? East European Politics and Societies 21 (1): 7–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, Joakim, and Erik Amnå. 2010. Political participation and civic engagement: Towards a new typology. Human Affairs 22 (3): 283–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finkel, Steven E., Aníbal Pérez-Liñán, and Mitchell A. Seligson. 2007. The Effects of U.S. Foreign Assistance on Democracy Building, 1990–2003. World Politics 59 (3): 404–439.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finkel, Steven E., and Amy E. Smith. 2011. Civic Education, Political Discussion, and the Social Transmission of Democratic Knowledge and Values in a New Democracy: Kenya 2002. American Journal of Political Science 55 (2): 417–435.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galston, William A. 2001. Political Knowledge, Political Engagement, and Civic Education. Annual Review of Political Science 4 (1): 217–234.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galus Aleksandra, and Paulina Pospieszna. 2017. ‘Supporting new media in Ukraine through Polish Development Cooperation Program’, Środkowoeuropejskie Studia Polityczne [Central European Political Studies]. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssp.2017.2.9. http://ssp.amu.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ssp-2017-2-09.pdf. Accessed 10 Jan 2018.

  • Hart, Roger. 1992. Children’s Participation from Tokenism to Citizenship. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Head, Brian W. 2011. Why Not Ask Them? Mapping and Promoting Youth Participation. Children and Youth Services Review 33 (4): 541–547.

    Google Scholar 

  • Himmelmann, Gerhard. 2013. Competences for Teaching, Learning and Living Democratic Citizenship. In Civic Education and Competences for Engaging Citizens in Democracies, ed. Murray Print, and Dirk Lange. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, Marc, and Joris Boonen. 2016. Youth engagement in politics. Generational differences and participation inequalities. In Political Engagement of the Young in Europe: Youth in the Crucible, ed. Peter Thijssen, Jessy Siongers, Jeroen V. Laer, Jacques Haers, and Sara Mels. Abington and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horký Ondřej and Simon Lightfoot. 2012. From aid recipients to aid donors? Development policies of central and eastern European states. Perspectives on European Politics and Society 13 (1): 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoskins, Byrony, Jochen Jesinghaus, Massimiliano Mascherini, Giuseppe Munda, Michela Nardo, Michaela Saisana, Daniel Van Nijlen, Daniele Vidoni and Ernesto Villalba. 2006. Measuring Active Citizenship in Europe, CRELL Research Paper 4. Luxemburg: European Communities. https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/sites/jrcsh/files/jrc-coin-measuring-active-citizenship-2006_en.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Huntington, Samuel. 1991. The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ICNL (International Center for Non-for-Profit Law). 2016. NGO Law Monitor: Belarus. http://www.icnl.org/research/monitor/belarus.html. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • IPHR (International Partnership for Human Rights). 2013. Joint statement to OSCE Human Rights Conference: Repressive NGO legislation and practice in the post-Soviet region. http://iphronline.org/osce-hdim-joint-statement-on-freedom-of-association-20130927.html. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Kopstein, Jeffrey S., and David A. Reilly. 2000. Geographic Diffusion and the Transformation of the Post-communist World. World Politics 53 (1): 1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kucharczyk, Jacek, and Jeff Lovitt (eds.). 2007. Democracy’s New Champions. European Democracy Assistance After EU Enlargement. Prague: Policy Association for an Open Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lexmann, Miriam. 2014. ‘Let’s not talk about transition sharing, let’s do it. The potential of the Central and Eastern EU Member States in accelerating democracy support and transition in EU’s neighbourhood’, in International Conference Booklet Development and Democracy Development Ecosystems in V4: the New Role for Civil Society Organisations and Business Beyond 2015. Bratislava: Pontins Foundation.

  • Lightfoot, Simon. 2010. The Europeanization of International Development Policies: The Case of Central and Eastern European States. Europe-Asia Studies 62 (2): 329–350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lightfoot, Simon, and Balázs Szent-Iványi. 2014. Reluctant Donors? The Europeanization of International Development Policies in the New Member States. Journal of Common Market Studies 52 (6): 1257–1272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linz, Juan J., and Alfred Stepan. 1996. Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America, and Post-Communist Europe. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macedo, Stephen, Yvette Alex-Assensoh, Jeffrey M. Berry, Michael Brintnall, David E. Campbell, Luis Ricardo Fraga, Archon Fung, William A. Galston, Christopher F. Karpowitz, Margaret Levi, Meira Levinson, Keena Lipsitz, Richard G. Niemi, Robert D. Putnam, Wendy M. Rahn, Keith Reeves, Rob Reich, Robert R. Rodgers, Todd Swanstrom, and Katherine Cramer Walsh. 2005. Democracy at Risk. How Political Choices Undermine Citizen Participation and What We Can Do About It. Washington: Brookings Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malak-Minkiewicz, Barbara. 2007. Civic Education in Times of Change: The Post-Communist Countries. Citizenship Teaching and Learning 3 (2): 58–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manners, Ian. 2002. Normative Power Europe: A Contradiction in Terms? Journal of Common Market Studies 40 (2): 235–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maroshek-Klarman, Uki B. 1996. Nie ma czegoś takiego jak trochę demokracji. O kształceniu ku demokracji i o demokracji w systemie oświaty [There is no such thing as a bit of democracy. On education towards democracy and democracy in the education system]. Warsaw: Fundacja Edukacja dla Demokracji.

  • MFA RP (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland). 2012. Multiannual Development Cooperation Programme 2012–2015. https://www.polskapomoc.gov.pl/Programowanie,wieloletnie,1091.html. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • MFA RP (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland). 2013. Poland’s Transformation Experience in Polish Aid Program. https://www.polskapomoc.gov.pl/Wspieranie,transformacji,1870.html. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • MFA RP (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland). 2015. Multiannual Development Cooperation Programme 2016–2020. https://www.polskapomoc.gov.pl/m/Wieloletni,program,wspolpracy,rozwojowej,na,lata,2016-2020,2080.html. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Nikolova, Milena, Monika Roman, and Klaus F. Zimmermann. 2016. ‘Left Behind But Doing Good? Civic Engagement in two Post-socialist Countries. Journal of Comparative Economics.. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jce.2016.04.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogris, Günther, and Sabine Westphal. 2005. Political Participation of Young People in Europe—Development of Indicators for Comparative Research in the European Union (EUYOUPART). Vienna: Institute for Social Research and Analysis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osler, Audrey. 2012. Citizenship Education in Europe. In Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education, ed. James A. Banks. London and Los Angeles: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrova, Tsveta. 2014. From Solidarity to Geopolitics: Support for Democracy among Postcommunist States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pevehouse, Jon C. 2002. Democracy from the Outside-In? International Organizations and Democratization. International Organization 56 (3): 515–549. https://doi.org/10.1162/002081802760199872.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pospieszna, Paulina. 2010. When Recipients Become Donors: Polish Democracy Assistance in Belarus and Ukraine. Problems of Post-Communism 57 (4): 3–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pospieszna, Paulina. 2014. Democracy Assistance from the Third Wave. Polish Engagement in Belarus in Ukraine. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pospieszna, Paulina. 2015a. Democracy Assistance and Women’s Political Empowerment in Post-conflict Countries. Democratization 22 (7): 1250–1272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pospieszna, Paulina. 2015b. Teaching Democracy and Active Citizenship through Citizenship Education: How do we know it works? Bratislava: Pontis Foundation. http://www.nadaciapontis.sk/data/files/D&D_2015_ZBORNIK.pdf. Accessed 10 Jan 2018.

  • Pridham, Geoffrey, Eric Herring, and George Sanford. 1997. Building Democracy? The International Dimension of Democratization in Eastern Europe. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Print, Murray. 2013. Competences for Democratic Citizenship in Europe. In Civic Education and Competences for Engaging Citizens in Democracies, pagination, ed. Murray Print, and Dirk Lange. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, Robert D. 1993. What makes democracy work? National Civic Review 82 (2): 101–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, Robert. 1995. Tuning in, tuning out: The strange disappearance of social capital in America. PS: Political Science & Politics 28 (4): 664–683.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, Robert D. 2000. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rajani, Rakesh. 2001. The Participation Rights of Adolescents: A Strategic Approach, New York: United Nations Children’s Fund. http://www.unicef.org/Participation_Rights_of_Adolescents_Rajani_2001.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Rogers, Everett. 1995. Diffusion of Innovations. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rudra, Nita. 2005. Globalization and the Strengthening of Democracy in the Developing World. American Journal of Political Science 49 (4): 704–730.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, Wolfram, and Heiko Sibberns, eds. 2004. IEA Civic Education Study Technical Report, Amsterdam: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). http://www.iea.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/Electronic_versions/CIVED_Technical_Report.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Schulz, Wolfram, John Ainley, and Julian Fraillon, eds. 2001. ICCS 2009 Technical Report. Amsterdam: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). http://www.iea.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/Electronic_versions/CIVED_Technical_Report.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Schulz, Wolfram, John Ainley, Julian Fraillon, David Kerr, and Bruno Losito. 2010. ICCS 2009 International Report: Civic knowledge, attitudes, and engagement among lower-secondary school students in 38 countries. Amsterdam: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). http://www.iea.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/Electronic_versions/ICCS_2009_International_Report.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Schulz, Wolfram, Julian Fraillon, John Ainley, Bruno Losito, and David Kerr. 2008. International Civic and Citizenship Education Study. Assessment Framework. Amsterdam: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).

  • Segert, Dieter (ed.). 2016. Civic Education and Democratisation in the Eastern Partnership Countries. Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, Beth, and Zachary Elkins. 2004. The Globalization of Liberalization: Policy Diffusion in the International Political Economy. American Political Science Review 98 (1): 171–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solhaug, Trond. 2013. Trends and Dilemmas in Citizenship Education. Nordidactica Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education 1: 180–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szent-Iványi, Balázs. 2014. The EU’s Support for Democratic Governance in the Eastern Neighbourhood: the Role of New Member State Transition Experience. Europe-Asia Studies 66 (7): 1102–1121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szent-Iványi, Balázs, and Simon Lightfoot. 2015. New Europe’s New Development Aid. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torney, Judith, Abraham N. Oppenheim, and Russel F. Farnen. 1975. Civic Education in Ten Countries. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torney-Purta, Judith. 2007. Guest Editor’s Introduction. Citizenship, Teaching and Learning 3 (2): 1–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torney-Purta, Judith, Rainer Lehman, Hans Oswald, and Wolfram Schultz. 2001. Citizenship and Education in Twenty-eight Countries: Civic Knowledge and Engagement at Age Fourteen. Amsterdam: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). http://www.iea.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/Publications/Electronic_versions/CIVED_Phase2_Age_Fourteen.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Tusalem, Rollin F. 2007. A Boon or a Bane? The Role of Civil Society in Third-and Fourth-Wave Democracies. International Political Science Review 28 (3): 361–386.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN (United Nations). 2006. Guide to the Implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth. http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/wpay_guide.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2014. UNDP Youth Strategy 2014–2017. Empowered Youth, Sustainable Future. http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/Youth/UNDP_Youth-Strategy-2014-17_Web.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2016. Youth Civic Engagement. http://www.unworldyouthreport.org/images/docs/un_world_youth_report_youth_civic_engagement.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • UNESCO. 2014. Global Citizenship Education, Preparing Learners for the Challenges of the 21st Century. http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002277/227729E.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Utter, Glenn. 2011. Youth and Political Participation. A Reference Handbook. California: ABC-CLIO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Meer, T., and E. Van Ingen. 2009. Schools of Democracy? Disentangling the Relationship Between Civic Participation and Political Action in 17 European Countries. European Journal of Political Research 40 (2): 281–308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Végh, Zsuzsanna. 2014. ‘Democracy support through Visegrad development aid: The case of Moldova and Georgia’, in International Conference Booklet Development and Democracy. Development Ecosystems in V4: the New Role for Civil Society Organizations and Business Beyond 2015. Bratislava: Pontins Foundation.

  • Verba, Sidney, Kay L. Schlozman, and Henry Brady. 1995. Voice and Equality. Civic Voluntarism in American Politics, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Veugelers, Wiel. 2011. Theory and Practice of Citizenship Education. The Case of Policy, Science and Education in the Netherlands. Revista de Educación, extra edition.

  • Whitehead, Laurence. 1996. Three International Dimensions of Democratization. In The International Dimensions of Democratization, ed. Laurence Whitehead. Dimensions of Democratization, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, Howard. 2002. Supporting young people in Europe: principles, policy and practice. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/youth/Source/IG_Coop/YP_Supporting_young_people_Vol_I_en.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Youngs, Richard, ed. 2006. Survey of European Democracy Promotion Policies 2000–2006. http://fride.org/download/BO_survey_ENG_may06.pdf. Accessed 8 Jan 2017.

  • Zukin, Cliff, Scott Keeter, Molly Andolina, Krista Jenkins, and Michael X. Delli Carpini. 2006. A New Engagement?: Political Participation, Civic Life, and the Changing American Citizen. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of the paper was presented at the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Joint Sessions 2015, 29 March–2 April 2015. The authors would like to thank members of the ‘Citizenship’ standing group within the ECPR for their comments on the paper. Special thanks also to the STP team: ‘Borussia’ Foundation, The Leaders of Change, the Polish-American Freedom Foundation, and Education for Democracy Foundation, for collaboration and data sharing. This work was supported by the National Science Centre (NCN) Poland [Grant No. UMO-2013/09/D/HS5/04381].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Umultowska 89a, 61-614, Poznan, Poland

    Paulina Pospieszna & Aleksandra Galus

Authors
  1. Paulina Pospieszna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Aleksandra Galus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paulina Pospieszna.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pospieszna, P., Galus, A. Promoting active youth: evidence from Polish NGO’s civic education programme in Eastern Europe. J Int Relat Dev 23, 210–236 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41268-018-0134-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41268-018-0134-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation