Local Youth Projects: Political Rhetoric and Strategies. The Swedish Case

Abstract

In Sweden, youth matters increasingly form a political field of their own. Youth politics may be related to governance and policy research on the one hand, and research on young people's lives on the other. Both have been influenced by similar questions, concerning the freedom of actors and the power of structures. Research specifically on youth politics is however scanty, in Sweden and internationally. The article analyses recent Swedish youth politics, based on interviews with local politicians and officials. Questions posed are: Which youth matters are prioritised at the local political agenda, and why? How is the division of responsibilities in youth matters between different actors perceived? Which importance and functions are attributed to local youth projects? To what extent do recent youth politics mirror late-modern assumptions of self-governance, individual choice and risk-taking? To what extent do they reflect assumptions of an earlier dominant social welfare paradigm? It is concluded that local youth politics in general contain elements of collectivist welfare thinking, and a neo-liberal or post-modern ideology is barely visible. Nevertheless, flexibility, autonomy and decentralisation assumptions about local authorities and young people become more prominent around youth projects. The municipality is also more likely to be identified as a strategic, risk-taking actor here.