Report
Kan ett engagemang i civilsamhället motverka intolerans mot personer med utländsk bakgrund?
2020Lundberg, E.Stockholm: Myndigheten för ungdoms- och civilsamhällesfrågor
What is this study about?
The study examines whether young people's engagement in civil society organisations can contribute to reduced intolerance towards people with a foreign background. The report builds on the research behind the study Time matters: Civic engagement and the development of anti-immigrant attitudes among adolescents and presents its results in a more accessible and policy-oriented format. By following adolescents over time, it examines in particular the importance of how long young people are engaged and what type of organisation they participate in.
What did we find?
Can engagement in associations affect young people's attitudes towards people with a foreign background? The results show that longer-lasting engagement is associated with less negative attitudes. At the same time, both the duration of young people's engagement and the type of organisation they participate in matter. The relationship is thus more nuanced than the notion that participation in associations in itself automatically leads to increased tolerance.
Why does it matter?
Civil society is often described as a “school of democracy”, where participation is assumed to contribute to tolerance and other democratic values. The results show why this notion needs to be specified. It is not only whether young people participate that matters, but also how long they are engaged and in what organisational contexts the participation takes place. This provides a more nuanced understanding of the conditions under which civil society can contribute to the development of tolerance.
Citation
Lundberg, E. (2020) Kan ett engagemang i civilsamhället motverka intolerans mot personer med utländsk bakgrund?. Stockholm: Myndigheten för ungdoms- och civilsamhällesfrågor
Research area
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