Both in citizenship education research and public debate, interest in understanding the role and significance of young people in the current state and future of democracy is ongoing. From one point of view, young people are seen as alienated and passive, thus raising concern. From another point of view, young people are seen as drivers for change, thus raising hope. This paper intends to explore such contradicting roles of the young Nordic citizens. The basic questions are as follows: (1) What are the characteristics of the Nordic youth relative to the youth in other regions? (2) What are their main perceptions and attitudes towards the active and passive dimensions of citizenship? (3) Have these characteristics and perceptions changed over time? Empirically, the analyses and interpretations are based on IEA’s International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2009 and ICCS 2016 data (Schulz et al., 2010, Schulz et al., 2018) applied to demonstrate the regional trends, similarities, and differences among youth. In general, the Nordic youth are relatively passive with regard to political participation. At the same time, however, they are knowledgeable and democratically engaged. We propose a new analytical concept to understand this “double-sided” civic engagement of the Nordic youth as the reserved young Nordic citizens. We elaborate on the concept of “the standby citizen” by Amnå and Ekman (2014) when developing the analytical category of “the reserved citizen.” We argue, based on data from ICCS 2009 and 2016 studies, that Nordic youth are not passive, but knowledgeable, have inclusive values, and are engaged in discussions with family and peers, yet they actively choose not to take part in more conventional political activities. In other words, we maintain that despite their reticence, the youth are pragmatic, reflective, critical thinkers who uphold democratic attitudes and values.

Amnå, E., & Ekman, J. (2014). Stand-by citizens: Diverse faces of political passivity. European Political Science Review, 6(2), 261-281. https://doi.org/10.1017/S175577391300009X Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Kerr, D., & Losito, B. (2010). ICCS 2009 international report: Civic knowledge, attitudes, and engagement among lower-secondary school students in 38 countries. International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Schulz, W., Ainley, J., Fraillon, J., Losito, B., Agrusti, G., &Friedman, T. (2018). Becoming citizens in a changing world: IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 international report. International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).