YOUTH POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN THE FOCUS PF POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY: CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS

In: Moscow University Bulletin. Series 12. Political Science, Heft 2023, №2, S. 7-25

Abstract

The article presents political-psychological approach to understanding youth political leadership. This approach has complex character and allows to implement interdisciplinary synthesis of the provisions of different branches of social sciences and humanities to study the considered phenomenon in the framework of political science subject field. We highlight such basic parameters to determine youth political leaders as origin from the sphere of youth policy, young people's perception of such leaders as their own representatives, promotion of the career ladder in public policy and public administration. This study identifies and conceptually substantiates three dimensions of youth political leadership: personal-professional, status-role, image-symbolic. The article considers personal qualities and professional characteristics which are necessary for youth political leaders, status-role positions in the system of power hierarchy, career trajectories and political recruiting specificity, the features of youth political leaders' image shaping in the consciousness of youth.