In contexts where democratic representation and institutions are steadily eroding, why and how do young people still choose to join political parties? In her latest publication, Annamária Sebestyén addresses this pertinent issue by examining the socialization processes that lead Hungarian university students to become party members despite widespread distrust and disillusionment.
Drawing on 40 in-depth life-history interviews with university students who are members of nearly the entire spectrum of Hungarian parliamentary parties – including the governing Fidesz and opposition parties such as the Hungarian Socialist Party, the Democratic Coalition, Dialogue – The Greens’ Party, LMP – Hungary’s Green Party, Jobbik–Conservatives, the Momentum Movement, and the satirical Two-Tailed Dog Party – this qualitative study identifies five ideal-typical pathways to party membership.
These pathways include routes shaped by family influence, peer networks, civic engagement during high school, involvement in civil society (e.g. NGOs), and direct recruitment by political parties. Each trajectory reveals a distinct interplay of personal experience, political context, and social influence. Importantly, these pathways often differ from those commonly found in Western Europe, where party membership typically stems from stable ideological commitments and intergenerational transmission.
Political Socialization in an Electoral Autocracy
To interpret these findings, it is essential to understand the Hungarian context. As the only electoral autocracy within the European Union, Hungary presents a paradox case: while formal democratic institutions, such as elections, remain in place, they are increasingly being undermined by centralized power, a fragmented opposition and growing restrictions on civil society.
This political transformation directly affects how young people engage with politics. On the one hand, party membership among young people is rare, and political parties are widely viewed with skepticism. Conversely, the erosion of civil society as a meaningful alternative for political engagement has left political parties in a central — albeit contested — position within the political system. This contradiction creates a fertile yet highly complex environment for political socialization.
Hungary’s post-socialist legacy adds another layer of complexity. The absence of strong intergenerational traditions of political engagement, combined with widespread distrust of formal political institutions, weakens the influence of traditional socializing agents such as family and school. Instead of simply inheriting political views from their families, many young people come to politics on their own—often after navigating personal challenges, experimenting with different perspectives, and thinking deeply about their role in society.
The Civil Society Detour: A Distinctive Pathway
One of the more nuanced trajectories identified in the study involves youth engagement in civil society. In this pathway, young people do not join parties because NGOs encourage them to do so. Rather, party affiliation emerges over time, often as a result of collaboration between political parties and civic organizations in issue-based or advocacy work.
What distinguishes this route is the prolonged period of deliberation that typically precedes party membership. For many, this hesitation reflects ambivalence or disillusionment stemming from earlier socialization experiences. The eventual decision to join a party is often motivated not by ideological affinity, but by the realization that NGOs lack the political influence needed to drive systemic change. Party engagement thus becomes a pragmatic – even reluctant – response to the structural limitations of civil society in Hungary.
Political Identity: Formed After Membership
A striking finding of the study is that many young people join political parties before fully developing a political identity. This is especially common among those recruited through peer influence or direct party outreach. In these cases, political ideology is not a prerequisite for membership but rather a product of ongoing socialization within the party.
Party communities thus play a dual role: they are not only channels of political participation but also spaces of political (re)socialization. They offer belonging, coherence, and identity to individuals who may initially enter the political sphere with vague motivations or unresolved political beliefs. This reverses the often-assumed causal order of political socialization – suggesting that belonging can precede belief.
Theoretical Contribution: Resocialization as a Political Process
This research contributes to bridging two scholarly literatures: political socialization theory and motivational analyses of party membership. While many Western studies assume intergenerational transmission and predefined ideological motives, the Hungarian case reveals a different dynamic. Here, young people often enter politics with only diffuse concerns, personal tensions, or reactive impulses—shaped by a political environment where stable ideological anchors are scarce.
This suggests that political commitment is not merely inherited or chosen, but often constructed through resocialization and experiential learning. In Hungary’s electoral autocracy, parties have become the institutions that fill the void left by weakened families, schools, and civic organizations.
Key Findings
- Context matters. In Hungary, political socialization is shaped by the combined effects of weak civil society, dominant party structures, and post-socialist political cynicism. These factors result in more fragmented and contested political trajectories than typically seen in Western democracies.
- Family is not central. Although family can play a role, most young party members come from politically passive or even hostile households. Political engagement often develops in tension with, rather than because of, family influence.
- Political identity develops post-membership. Especially in cases of peer-led or mobilized recruitment, political ideology often solidifies only after joining. Party communities are instrumental in this identity formation.
- Parties still matter. Despite the crisis of representative democracy, parties remain key actors in youth political socialization. Personal contact, local activism, and inclusive communities are more effective in building trust than impersonal outreach strategies.
- Motivation and socialization are intertwined. Political motivations are rarely formed in isolation. They emerge in and through the social contexts – schools, peers, NGOs, and party networks – that shape political agency.
Why This Matters
The findings have implications that extend beyond Hungary. At a time when democratic backsliding and youth disengagement are growing phenomena across many regimes – authoritarian and democratic alike – this study raises some pressing questions: What role should political parties play in re-engaging young people? Can parties facilitate meaningful participation where civil society is restricted? What happens when political identity is shaped through partisan involvement rather than beforehand?
With democratic institutions faltering, it has never been more urgent to understand how and why young people enter the formal political sphere, especially in challenging contexts.