Representing the Future? A Conceptual Framework for Assessing the Representation of the Youth by Young MPs

As young people appear increasingly distant from traditional forms of political engagement, including voting and membership in political parties, a democratic challenge arise in the European Union (EU). This disconnect in youth political participation indeed poses normative concerns, potentially amplifying the EU’s democratic deficit and fostering distrust in political institutions. Against this background, our research delves into this prevailing disconnect between youth and democratic processes by analysing the youth’s political representation within parliamentary arenas, notably by young members of parliaments (MPs). Beyond mere descriptive representation, this research aims to analyse the substantive representation of the youth specifically by young(er) political actors, exploring the extent to which the preferences and concerns of this demographic group are acknowledged and advocated in national and European parliaments. To explore the complex dynamics of youth representation in parliaments, we propose a conceptual framework based on a representative claims analysis of young MPs. This paper sets out the theoretical, methodological and exploratory bases of our research, while also presenting preliminary results based on the Polish parliament.