Youth of Today and the Democracy of Tomorrow. Polish Students’ Attitudes Toward Democracy

From the perspective of over 20 years into the transformation process in post-communist countries, it seems important to be able to pose questions about the future of democracy, and, in particular, its social foundations. These questions become all the more significant, when we come to realize that it is the attitudes of ‘the young of today’ that will be shaping ‘the democracy of tomorrow’. The authors of the article aim to determine what young citizens (especially Polish students) in selected Central and Eastern European countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania) think of contemporary democracy and to diagnose the extent to which the democratic principles and values are reflected in the beliefs of the younger generation, especially amongst Polish students. Their attitudes towards democracy and values are the main part of the article and they were compared with values of the other CEEC young citizens. The article also highlights their distrust towards Polish political parties and political elites and belief, that existing Polish political parties do not have any proper programs or ideas for young people, which may be a chance for a new political movement in Poland.