Building on the representative FES Youth Study Southeast Europe 2024, this new analysis by Elena Avramovska takes a deeper look at the values, attitudes, and democratic orientations of young people aged 14 to 29 across 12 countries.

By grouping them into six segments based on shared patterns in attitudes, values, and political engagement, the segmentation approach moves beyond conventional categories like age or income and instead focuses on how young people relate to topics such as democracy, trust, nationalism, and social justice. While some segments show high levels of political interest and progressive values, others are marked by distrust, disengagement, or a strong orientation toward tradition. Regional variation is notable—for example, conservative and disengaged young men are especially common in Kosovo and Albania, whereas socially progressive youth are more concentrated in Greece and Slovenia.

The analysis offers a differentiated view of the region’s youth landscape and highlights areas where engagement strategies could be tailored more effectively. Rather than assuming a unified youth voice, the findings suggest that political attitudes among young people are shaped less by age and more by underlying beliefs and life circumstances.