Democratic values and political attitudes in the Macedonian young people

The paper gives an insight into attitudes towards democracy of young people in the Republic of Macedonia, in particular their interest in politics and their engagement in civic and political activities. The findings in the paper rely on the data from following research projects: Virtual and Real Identities in the Republic of Macedonia, Youth Trends in the Republic of Macedonia и Youth Study Macedonia 2013. Throughout the paper, the pursuit of these issues is interlaced with a comparative analytical perspective involving the dimensions comparison of students' attitudes towards democracy by their ethnic belonging and comparison of students' attitudes towards democracy by their gender. The findings point out to certain indifference and disengagement in terms of the political and civic activities of the young people, as well as the fact that there are major differences among the young people pertaining to their interest in politics and their satisfaction with the democratic development of the society is of particular interest and it is worth highlighting. (author's abstract

Democratic values and political attitudes of the Macedonian young people

The paper gives an insight into attitudes towards democracy of young people in the Republic of Macedonia, in particular their interest in politics and their engagement in civic and political activities. The findings in the paper rely on the data from following research projects: Virtual and Real Identities in the Republic of Macedonia, Youth Trends in the Republic of Macedonia и Youth Study Macedonia 2013. Throughout the paper, the pursuit of these issues is interlaced with a comparative analytical perspective involving the dimensions comparison of students’ attitudes towards democracy by their ethnic belonging and comparison of students’ attitudes towards democracy by their gender. The findings point out to certain indifference and disengagement in terms of the political and civic activities of the young people, as well as the fact that there are major differences among the young people pertaining to their interest in politics and their satisfaction with the democratic development of the society is of particular interest and it is worth highlighting

Political Attitudes, Values, and Procedures in the Young Eastern European Democracies: A Case Study on the Attitudes toward Democracy of the Macedonian Students

Having in mind that Macedonian society is still in a process of democratic transition, the discussion pertaining to the relevance and significance of democracy, as well as democratic awareness of its citizens, is one of the most contested issues in the political and academic debates in the Republic of Macedonia. The paper examines the attitudes towards democracy of the student population in the Republic of Macedonia, analyzed through the following aspects: citizen participation, citizen activism and political affiliation. The project entitled “Virtual and Real Identities in the Republic of Macedonia” - conducted by the Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, served as a basis for our research. The findings suggest that the Macedonian society should pay more attention on development of democratic awareness of its young people through educational system and other institutions

Processes of individualization in the presence of strong collective identities

In the contemporary societies people try to build an individualized approach through life, while the collective identity coercions starts to pale. This ratio consists of many aspects like the intensity of the existing collective identities, the consistency of transmission of the parent’s way of living to their children and the individual choices that are available for the young people in the specific social context. In Macedonian society there are some modern processes concerning the development of stronger personal identities of the youth, and their attempts to change the way of living comparing the way their parents did. Having in mind that in Macedonia live citizens that are members of different cultural and ethnic groups the analysis will show even local differences elaborating these phenomena. There are indications that there is some fluctuation towards bigger individualization among youth and the evidence that the young people still lives their parent’s collective identities. The target group of the research is the student population, in the study that was done on the sample of 707 respondents, chosen by quotas, from the six universities in the country. The main thesis is that the students are still "overshadowed of the successes" of their parents past social experience, that is strongly connected with the collective nature of their identities. The main research questions are the state of the collective identities, the relation between the parents and the student's collective identification, and the evidence of stronger development of the self-confidence among students. (author's abstract

Democratic Values and Political Attitudes in the Macedonian Young People

The paper gives an insight into attitudes towards democracy of young people in the Republic of Macedonia, in particular their interest in politics and their engagement in civic and political activities. The findings in the paper rely on the data from following research projects: Virtual and Real Identities in the Republic of Macedonia, Youth Trends in the Republic of Macedonia и Youth Study Macedonia 2013. Throughout the paper, the pursuit of these issues is interlaced with a comparative analytical perspective involving the dimensions comparison of students’ attitudes towards democracy by their ethnic belonging and comparison of students’ attitudes towards democracy by their gender. The findings point out to certain indifference and disengagement in terms of the political and civic activities of the young people, as well as the fact that there are major differences among the young people pertaining to their interest in politics and their satisfaction with the democratic development of the society is of particular interest and it is worth highlighting

Macedonian election rules: citizens vis-à-vis political parties

The Macedonian election rules, i.e. the setting of the electoral system, produce a double effect, an effect on the voter, and an effect on the party system. Therefore, each change in the electoral regulations would not only alter the voters’ comportment but also impact the political parties. Considering these effects, the paper aimed to compare the attitudes of the citizens and political parties regarding the electoral legislature (both for the parliamentary and local elections); and produce adequate electoral solutions as a corrective for the detected shortcomings of the current regulations. The paper relied on content analysis of theoretical literature and research, empirical qualitative research based on citizens’ focus groups from each region in Macedonia, questioned political parties, and additional data analysis. The ultimate findings propose a way to promote the equal value of each vote, proportional regional representation, and MPs' accountability at the parliamentary elections. For the local elections, the proposed solution referred to reducing the election cost, the possibility of political bargaining, and preserving the legitimacy of elected mayors

Inherited or Authentic Civic Passiveness among the Young People in Macedonia

This paper deals with the values, priorities and political behavior of the young people in the Republic of Macedonia. Data from recent researches are used to show the main specificities of the young generation from the aspect of their political culture. Results show domination of apathy, dissatisfaction, opportunism and civic passiveness, which should not be characteristic for generations born and socialized after the political transformation in the country

Processes of Individualization in the Presence of Strong Collective Identities

In the contemporary societies people try to build an individualized approach through life, while the collective identity coercions starts to pale. This ratio consists of many aspects like the intensity of the existing collective identities, the consistency of transmission of the parent’s way of living to their children and the individual choices that are available for the young people in the specific social context. In Macedonian society there are some modern processes concerning the development of stronger personal identities of the youth, and their attempts to change the way of living comparing the way their parents did. Having in mind that in Macedonia live citizens that are members of different cultural and ethnic groups the analysis will show even local differences elaborating these phenomena. There are indications that there is some fluctuation towards bigger individualization among youth and the evidence that the young people still lives their parent’s collective identities. The target group of the research is the student population, in the study that was done on the sample of 707 respondents, chosen by quotas, from the six universities in the country. The main thesis is that the students are still “overshadowed of the successes” of their parents past social experience, that is strongly connected with the collective nature of their identities. The main research questions are the state of the collective identities, the relation between the parents and the student’s collective identification, and the evidence of stronger development of the self-confidence among students