Youth Parliament as a form of political socialization and political participation of youth. Participation of youth in the socio-political life of the state – StartInfo
PARTICIPATION OF YOUTH IN THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE OF THE STATE
“Youth must be given the opportunity to actively participate in decision-making at local, national and global levels.”
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
In the context of the socio-political development of the state, the issue of active participation of young people in public life is increasingly on the agenda. political life countries. Mastering the cumulative social experience, the younger generation always brings something new. However, not all changes contribute to social development, but only those that are aimed at the progressive renewal of society and have the property of irreversibility contribute social process nature of development.
Youth is a large socio-demographic group that unites individuals based on socio-psychological, age, economic characteristics. From a psychological point of view, youth is a period of formation of self-awareness, a stable system of values, as well as social status. Young people represent the most valuable and at the same time the most problematic part of society. The value of the younger generation lies in the fact that, as a rule, its representatives have increased determination, the ability to assimilate large amounts of information, originality and critical thinking. However, these advantages give rise to certain problems in the realization and existence of young people in society. Thus, critical thinking is often aimed not at the search for truth, but at the categorical rejection of already existing norms and dogmas that guide other members of society. Modern youth are also characterized by new negative qualities that were absent in their predecessors, in particular, detachment from the world around them, reluctance to work, and increased negativism. However, one cannot deny the fact that the younger generation is a strategic resource for change in Kazakhstan. Therefore, the formation of a successful society depends on what civic position the youth of our country choose.
The problem of the low percentage of youth participation in socio-political activities today is that neither the state nor the adult part of society adequately demonstrate practical readiness to share with young people a commensurate part of the resource they control. There are no effective mechanisms for involving young people in the process of developing government decisions, in the joint formation of socially significant social action and sharing responsibility for their results. This leads to increasing apathy among young people; they do not want to participate in politics, do not believe in the possibility of fair elections, and do not consider the current government to be their authority. But one of the most pressing problems in the development of civic consciousness among young people is the lack of a legal and human rights culture among young people. The future management of society and the state depends on the level of legal awareness of young people.
Nowadays, most people are not aware of their rights, do not notice attacks on them, and easily infringe on the rights of other fellow citizens. Real society moves and changes, while maintaining, as a rule, its stability, due to the fact that very different value ideas roam, collide, interact and fight in the public consciousness, each of which has its own defenders, ready to fight for it until a victorious end and sincerely convinced that this particular idea is the main one for creating the “best possible social world,” that is, that “real” society to which humanity has unconsciously strived since its very inception.
Today, youth initiative arises by decision of administrative structures, which displaces the creative potential of youth beyond the boundaries of youth organizations and political parties. Despite the fact that, as part of the implementation of today's state youth policy, work is being done to develop the full-fledged personality of the younger generation, organize leisure time, sports and health education, etc., the situation of the majority of Kazakhstani youth can be described as isolated. The interests of young people are not sufficiently represented in youth policy, since youth policy is built primarily in relation to young people participating in the work of public organizations, that is, a smaller part of it. The priority position of large youth organizations in matters of receiving state support slows down the development of initiatives of small groups representing the varied interests of the young population.
Youth public organizations cover only a small part of young people. The overwhelming majority of young people today do not find employment within existing youth public organizations and associations. The policy of supporting exclusively large and medium-sized youth associations leaves most of the youth behind. In addition, most public associations, due to their organizational and financial weakness, cannot adequately protect the interests of young people and organize efficient work among young people. Young people's awareness of the activities of youth and children's public associations remains extremely low. Most young people are not familiar with the programmatic guidelines of political parties and are poorly informed about the work of candidates, which largely explains low level youth participation in parliamentary elections. The real educational impact on a young person today is exerted by the information environment, which sometimes demonstrates cultural patterns and examples of behavior that are incompatible with the concept of social responsibility. Thus, today it is necessary to pay close attention not only to working with young people at the level of public associations, political parties, and the state, but also to working with youth media. The need for formation and development professional culture journalists working in youth media, the organization of this type of specialization in the faculties of journalism and advanced training is obvious for practitioners.
Information policy needs to be changed in two directions: firstly, work with opinion leaders among young people, try to actively involve them in the work of the third sector; secondly, in parallel it is necessary to organize media education for children, adolescents and their parents. Here you can take advantage of the experience of European countries. It is advisable to create a national youth media infrastructure, including public television (the content of which would be determined not by the commercial interests of the owners, but by users, including young people) and a powerful youth Internet portal.
Given the relatively high popularity of print media among the population, it seems appropriate to use the resources of print media, which should more actively cover youth issues. It is necessary to create opportunities for the participation of youth organizations in monitoring the quality of the electoral process, as well as the activities of political parties. It is important to provide youth parliaments (governments) with a real opportunity to make political decisions on issues affecting youth. But the main thing that the state needs to realize is that youth are the main partner and resource of the state. The state long time treated her as that part of society that only needed to be educated, guided and protected. Now there is an understanding that young people are a full-fledged subject of legal relations. In the meantime, unfortunately, the young man is on his own, and the state is on its own; everyone solves their problems with the help of the resources available to them. This often leads to the fact that successful, thinking young people by the time they reach professional adulthood (25-30 years old) do not consider themselves bound by any obligations to their country. And the main reason is the fact that they were not allowed to make significant public and state decisions. One of them said very well: “We consider as ours only what we took part in creating.”
Traditional forms of youth participation are increasingly in conflict with the new realities of the information society. Young people are mobile, they quickly master new information technologies and use them in their lives. Young people spend more and more of their time on the Internet. Virtual communication among young people is becoming even more intense than communication in real life. Government structures and public organizations involved in working with youth have not yet given an adequate response to these changes. The Internet resources they create cannot be compared in terms of the number of visits with chats and forums popular among young people. At the same time, the efficiency and relevance of these resources is extremely low. As a result, the most important channel of interaction with the youth audience is not used. The problem concerns not only government authorities, but also youth organizations, youth centers and other structures designed to ensure the development of youth participation. The lack of channels for direct information interaction with young people sharply reduces the possibility of their inclusion in various shapes social activity. Young people objectively need expanded opportunities to participate in various spheres of life at the local and regional level. This concerns issues such as access to information, participation in decision-making, seeking support for the implementation of one’s own projects and initiatives, access to the services of youth NGOs, social services and other structures. The solution to the problem of updating youth participation channels will be important step forward in forming an active generation of citizens of modern Kazakhstan. It's about about the development " electronic participation» (e-participation) of youth, including the use by youth organizations information technologies to involve youth in their programs and create a system for monitoring the level of youth participation in public life based on information technology. Youth policy today can only be effective if it supports individual development young man, and does not strive to shape his personality according to templates, standards, and regulations. It facilitates, provides information and resources for a person’s choice, and does not just discipline him; stimulates the initiatives of young people and their organizations, rather than imposing their own solutions. That is why modern youth policy must be flexible and combine a centralized state component and a decentralized public one.
Conclusion: The authorities constantly express concern about what is happening to our children and youth. But concern is not politics. How can legislators really help ensure that the younger generation is more actively involved in the life of the country and feels responsible for its destiny?
Having projected world experience onto the domestic practice of implementing youth policy, we can highlight the following key areas of work to develop youth participation:
- Youth information. It is necessary not only to provide young people with information about opportunities for participation in society, but also to establish constant information interaction between young people and youth policy structures. For young people, this will, among other things, create an opportunity to influence decisions made via the Internet.
- Development of programs and projects that are managed by youth themselves. It must be recognized that most of the projects and programs that are implemented within the framework of youth policy are developed on the initiative of adults and provide only a limited role for youth, if not even addressed to young people as recipients of services. It is obvious that the role of youth in project management should become a key criterion when deciding on its financial support from funds allocated for the implementation of youth programs.
- Development of youth representation. Through forms of representation at different levels, young people should be given the opportunity to influence decision-making that affects their lives. Attention to the opinions of young people and taking into account their suggestions should become normal practice for all structures working with youth.
Thus, the legal self-determination of young people is one of the important problems existing today. It is impossible to solve it without solving the problems of the whole society. The results of all today's reforms, the emergence of a new legal culture, and therefore the further historical path of our society, significantly depend on the definition of the role of youth in society, their place, moods, and attitudes. Today we are constantly faced with the legal illiteracy of the population. There is an urgent need to eliminate it. Moreover, this process must begin with young people. If in a few years we want to get a generation that is fluent in legal issues, who knows their duties and rights, how to implement and protect them, if we really want to build a rule-of-law state in Kazakhstan, then we need to pay more attention to youth policy and legal education youth.
List of used literature:
- file:///Users/viktoriabelavskaa/Desktop/%20%D0%BE%D0%BE%D0%BD.pdf
- http://utopiya.spb.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2779:2011-11-08-15-20-08&catid=110:2011-11-04-20-11-23&Itemid=206
This section will highlight the forms of political participation of young people.
In the political life of modern Russian society there are following forms political participation of youth.
- 1. Participation in voting. The political status of young people is determined by real, and not formally provided, opportunities to influence the formation of ruling forces in society through participation in voting. It is preceded by participation in the discussion of the election programs of political parties, candidates for deputies in federal and local authorities, and direct participation in elections.
- 2. Representative participation of young people in Russian authorities and local self-government. It finds practical expression in the implementation of the group interests of young people with the help of its representatives in government bodies.
In the last decade there has been significant reduction participation of young people in managing the affairs of society at all levels, which is a consequence of changes in the structure of public administration. The old forms of representative governance and self-government have lost their power, and the new ones do not provide for mechanisms for representing and coordinating the interests of various groups of the younger generation.
All these points are in no way consistent with the proclaimed course towards democratization of society and slowly but surely lead to the revival of totalitarianism in the country, increased arbitrariness of the administration at enterprises and educational institutions, and to further even greater restrictions on the rights of young people.
3. Creation of youth organizations, movements and participation in them. The desire of young people to unite in organizations is quite understandable, because young people spend a certain part of their political life among their peers. The modern heterogeneity of the political consciousness of young people, the diversity of political orientations and interests are reflected in the emergence of a large number of youth associations of various orientations, including political ones; this trend has especially become prevalent in Russian Federation last decade.
Today in Russia there are many different political youth and children's associations, most of which are supported by state youth policy. The support system for children's and youth organizations, operating in some cities, territories and regions of Russia, includes a set of measures, namely the provision of regular subsidies and financing of targeted programs to solve social problems of the country's younger generation.
It should also be noted that a special direction in the youth movement has become the activity charitable foundations. Currently, there are about 10 of them, let’s list some of them: “Youth for Russia”, “Participation”, “Power”, “Youth choose the future”, “Russian Care”, funds for supporting young entrepreneurs, promoting young deputies and some others.
However, despite government support, these movements have not yet had a significant impact on young people in general and their political life. Most of youth associations avoid setting political goals and clearly defining political orientations, although they, one way or another, act as interest groups.
4. Participation in the activities of political parties. This form of youth participation in politics aims to reproduce and renew political structure society. In conditions of social stability, it acts as a determining factor in the socialization of younger generations. As a rule, in crisis situations Interest in young people on the part of political parties is increasing. This trend also occurs in Russian society. However, such interest in Russia is frankly opportunistic and limited only to election campaigns.
Today, only some political parties have youth organizations registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. The Union “Young Republicans”, the Russian Communist Youth Union, the youth organization “Unity” operate with varying degrees of activity, and other youth organizations have either completely disappeared or are ceasing their active activities.
5. Participation in actions of spontaneous expression of will and protection of political rights and freedoms. It was expressed in the participation of young people in strikes, in acts of civil disobedience, in rallies, in demonstrations, and in other forms of social protest within the framework of existing legislation.
Such forms, of course, cannot be called the norm of political life. As a rule, they are resorted to by people driven to despair by the inability or unwillingness of the authorities to respond constructively to their social, economic, political needs and demands. The effectiveness of such forms of political action depends on the level of democracy of society and on the degree of solidarity of citizens fighting for their rights.
Political conflict is the most acute form confrontation. It can be resolved along the lines of compromise - consensus - cooperation - integration. The direction of intensifying confrontation may also develop, moreover, in illegitimate forms of social exclusion of various groups, disintegration of society. In the history of mankind, many examples can be given when young people, used by opposing forces, took extremely extremist positions in conflict situations.
Of course, the considered forms of political participation of young people, in addition to those indicated, have regional specifics.
So, the above-listed features of the younger generation as a subject of political relations are significantly concretized in the conditions of crisis in Russian society. Political consciousness and forms of youth participation in the political life of individual subjects of the Russian Federation have their own specifics. At the same time, what is common is the urgent need for the political integration of young people in order to stabilize the situation in Russian society.
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Youth participation in politics
Yatsenko Natalia Alexandrovna– student of Kuban State Technological University. (Krasnodar city)
Annotation: The article examines the degree of involvement of modern youth in political processes. The goals pursued by young people when participating in the political process are considered.
Keywords: youth, political process, youth policy, political participation, political activity.
Currently, Russian youth are increasingly interested in politics. Young people are beginning to understand that in specific historical conditions, politics can have a great impact on either accelerating or slowing down the social progress of society, and therefore on the situation and social status the youth themselves. The participation of young people in the political life of society today is one of the most pressing problems for Russian society. At the same time, the goals pursued by young people are very diverse. The immediate goals that young participants in the political process strive for are influence on power and control over power, interaction in the management process, acquisition of skills government controlled at the federal and local level. More distant goals are the socialization of youth, the self-development of a young person’s personality, and the acquisition of communication skills. It can be argued that young people who have entered the age of conscious worldview view the process of political participation as a way of self-affirmation, political training for career growth, and entry into the political system and among the political elite.
Today in Russia there are different assessments of the degree of involvement of modern youth in political processes. Some argue that the youth of Russia have a negative attitude towards almost all power structures, have a negative perception of the development of the political situation in the country, do not see an opportunity for themselves to influence the political process, and therefore are passive and apolitical. On the other hand, this may be due to the increased interest of young people in politics. Socio-economic and political changes events occurring in Russian society seriously affect the political behavior of the younger generation. This is observed, firstly, in the general activation of the political consciousness of young people, which is expressed in intensive discussion of pressing social issues and in critical examination of the answers to these questions proposed by various political forces. Secondly, the desire to understand the actual state of affairs for themselves leads to the fact that the social thinking of young people, previously focused on solving personal consumer problems of everyday life, is increasingly beginning to be intertwined with political thinking, which gives rise to new needs, interests and values.
A comparison can be made that currently the political activity of young people is an indicator of the processes taking place in society. Being politically active is becoming fashionable, so to speak. Now the youth in our country is a great, and most importantly, growing force. And therefore, many are thinking about how to make sure that this force contributes to the development of our country, the development of the political system. Youth gives dynamics to the development of the country and is the key to positive changes in society. Although there is also the exact opposite opinion. Therefore, the question arises: “Do youth need to be involved in politics?” Of course, yes, and we will justify our answer. In order for the country's political system not to stagnate, for its renewal and modernization to take place, for new political leaders to emerge, for new ideas, constant rotation of personnel is necessary, which is impossible without attracting young people to power. And here arises, perhaps, the most important question, - search for effective mechanisms to ensure this process. As they say, youth are the future of the country, so they need to participate in political life, thereby influencing the improvement of living standards.
It is also observed today that it has become fashionable for some politicians accuse the current government of the uselessness and unnecessaryness of youth policy, including the inclusion of youth as equal partners in socio-political processes. At the same time, they themselves also pursue a youth policy, only a different, “convenient” one, using youth only as a means to achieve their political gain.
The interest of young people in politics is more likely to be bursts of activity at the most crucial moments in the life of a country, city, or region. Otherwise, the dynamics of interest in politics are quite stable. After a period characterized by apolitical youth, there is now a growing interest among young people in issues of socio-political life and their active participation in it. Therefore, today one of priority areas in the field of youth policy is to help young people discover their capabilities, develop their civic consciousness and active citizenship.
Bibliography:
1. Political sociology: Textbook for universities / Ed. P50 people - corr. RAS Zh.T. Toshchenko. - M.: UNITY-DANA, 2002. - 495 p.
2. Burtsev, V. Youth policy - ideology and principles of implementation / V. Burtsev // Man and labor. – 2007. – No. 1. – P. 22-24.
3. General and applied political science: textbook. Edited by V.I. Zhukova, B.I. Krasnova. – M.: MGSU; Publishing house "Soyuz", 1997. – 992 p.
Introduction
The issue of determining the place and role of youth in the political process in any country is fundamental. Youth is the most important social and electoral resource of society, which can be used by various parties, political leaders and forces in their own interests.
The position of youth in the political process is also relevant for modern Russia. The relevance of this problem is due to a number of reasons.
Firstly, about 25 million young people aged 18 to 29 have the right to vote in Russia. This is about a quarter of the total number of voters.
Secondly, youth are the most dynamic and energetic social group that will determine the development of society and the state in a few years.
Thirdly, young people determine the employment structure of the population and its labor activity for the coming decades. Therefore, the economic development of the state and its power depend on the current situation of young people.
For these reasons, the appeal of Russia's political forces to young people, studying and solving their problems, and attracting young people to participate in the political process becomes a necessity and is of particular relevance.
Currently, a situation has developed in Russia where citizens who take an active part in the political process have already formed preferences in choosing a specific ideology and party. At the same time, the number of those who are not politically active or have not yet made their choice is much larger. It is this part of the electorate that is the resource for which the struggle is unfolding today. A significant part of this social group is young people.
IN Lately young people are increasingly becoming politically active under the influence of internal and external factors. Among the external factors determining the increase in political activity of young people, special mention should be made of the “orange” revolutions in the CIS countries. Main internal factors The increase in political activity of young people was the difficult financial situation of young Russians, lack of prospects for the future and unpopular social reforms carried out by the government of the Russian Federation.
The main task now is to involve young people in the country's political process.
The choice of this topic is related to its relevance. The purpose of the work is to try to predict the process of involving young people in the political life of the country. The objectives of the work are to define the concept of “youth”, determine the position and prospects of this social group, determine the forms and types of participation of young people in the political process.
1. The attitude of the youth of Lipetsk and the region to the elections in general
The desire in our country to build a civil society open society, the formation of mechanisms of political and legal culture, as well as a culture of citizenship, is one of the primary problems for modern Russia.
In this regard, elections to local authorities (elections of heads of municipalities, deputies to the local legislative body) acquire a special social value, which, in particular, lies in the fact that elections are one of the moments of moral and political self-affirmation of citizens. Today elections are both a way of political self-organization of civil society and a legally recognized opportunity for citizens and their political associations to be subjects state power and local government.
Taking into account that with each new election cycle new generations of citizens are included in the elections, the leading place in the process of information and legal education of voters is occupied by preparing young people to participate in electoral processes.
Different groups of the population participate in elections in different ways, and these groups are affected differently by the elections themselves. Youth participation in elections is important procedure.
On the one hand, there is continuity and development of legal culture: young people come to the polling station and with their voices take an active part in the electoral process of the country, region / region, and their city.
On the other hand, this is an act testifying to civic maturity, the exercise of the right to choose the future of one’s country.
In this regard, the issue of voters' awareness of elections is of key importance, since their electoral activity depends on the answer to it. Speaking about how young people feel about elections in general, the survey results showed the following.
Table 2. Please tell me how you feel about the elections in general?
As can be seen from Table 1.1, more than half of the surveyed young people in the region have a neutral attitude towards the elections, while about 40% have a positive attitude. This position of the first group of respondents (let’s call them “undecided”) may indicate that, for the most part, young people do not believe in electoral procedures and they care little about who will lead the city for the next four years. Moreover, the detached position of young people from elections is confirmed by data from other studies - scientists from FOM, VTsIOM and ROMIR have repeatedly noted in their analytical notes the low level of importance of elections for young people.
It is quite understandable that the need for elections is least obvious to those who view them either as an instrument of struggle for power by politicians and their groups; or as a political performance with a predetermined outcome.
Thus, we can draw the following line:
The resulting distribution of answers to the first question: “Please tell me, how do you feel about the elections in general?” may indicate an ongoing crisis of youth distrust in the basic mechanisms that ensure the functioning of the political system - these, of course, include elections.
This crisis began in the late 90s and is explained by a complex of diverse reasons. Among them are:
· insufficient effectiveness of state youth policy;
· by and large, the inaccessibility for young people of real participation in politics not only as a voter, but also as a directly elected candidate;
· compromise of the elections themselves, which have turned (in the opinion of young people) into a declaration of ideas and intentions to improve the life of society.
Low, even against a generally unsatisfactory background, assessments regarding youth participation in elections highlight to a significant extent the limited capabilities of these particular political institutions. The elections currently have the lowest coefficient of youth support. It seems possible to say that the results obtained indicate a growing distrust of elections among a significant part of young people (as noted above, more than 50% of respondents are neutral, i.e., not interested in the elections).
2. Electoral experience of youth participation in elections
Almost half of the young people who took part in the study have electoral experience. To the question: “Have you ever taken part in elections as a voter?” The following results were obtained.
Table 3. Have you already taken part in elections as a voter?
Table 4 tells us that young people's experience of participation in the electoral process varies by age. The vast majority of respondents, who are in the age range from 18 to 20 years, as the research results show, have no experience of participating in elections. Although a citizen of the Russian Federation can (and should) already exercise his constitutional duty and his right to vote from the age of 18.
So, only about half of the young people surveyed have electoral experience, and therefore only they are able to more or less competently judge the organization of elections. Thus, the analysis of electoral experience, in fact, confirms the predominantly neutral attitude of young people towards elections.
To the next question: “What level of elections did you take part in?” the answers were distributed as follows (see tables 5, 6)
Table 5. What level of elections did you take part in?
As the results of the study show, the majority of respondents noted participation in their answers:
primarily in municipal level elections,
secondly – in federal ones,
in the third – at regional ones.
Speaking about the distribution of answers by age groups of respondents, I would like to note the presence of obvious differences and the following trends (see Table 6):
Table 6. What level of elections did you take part in?
It is typical for respondents who fall into the youngest group (from 18 to 20 years old) that they have only participated in elections so far federal significance. Such, for example, were elections of deputies in State Duma in December 2007 and the presidential elections in the Russian Federation in 2008.
Respondents from older groups (from 21 to 30 years old) typically participate in elections at all levels, from municipal to federal.
So, to sum up the preliminary results, I would like to note that all the youth surveyed, one way or another, have experience of participating in the electoral process. Most of the youth of the Lipetsk region participated in municipal elections, especially here one can note the elections of deputies to the City Duma of Lipetsk, which took place in March 2008.
In general, according to the study, the attitude towards elections as a mechanism that helps solve any problems - more than half of the young people surveyed answered affirmatively that elections are an effective mechanism, while about 40% spoke the opposite - affirmatively
Table 7. Do you think elections decide anything in our country?
– representatives of the male part of the respondents are more pessimistic about elections as a mechanism for solving any problems. About 50% (total score) of respondents do not believe that elections can decide anything in our country.
– representatives of the female part, in contrast to the male part of society, are more optimistic in their statements. About 65% (total score) of respondents consider elections an effective mechanism for solving any problems in our country.
4. Electoral plans and motives for youth participation in elections
It has already been said above that a special role in the transitional process of development of Russian society belongs to the younger generation, which in the near future is capable of replacing the country’s current political elite. The majority of the younger generation in Russia is characterized by a low level of trust in politics and government, as well as high percentage political absentees, which casts doubt on the legitimacy of the existing political system and the possibility of establishing a civil society in our modern state.
To the question: “Please tell me, what is the reason for the point of view that young people are currently apolitical and in most cases do not go to elections?” The following responses were received.
(It is worth noting here that in this issue The respondent could choose several answer options).
Table 9. Please tell me why young people today are mostly apolitical and do not go to elections?
Based on the responses received, we can propose the following models of youth electoral behavior in elections:
The first model can be expressed as follows: “I don’t go to the polls because my vote won’t change anything.” Based on this model, the non-participation of young people in elections is explained by the fact that on the political scene there are no political forces capable of articulating and aggregating the interests of young people, which inevitably leads to young people’s lack of faith in their own strengths.
The second model of negative electoral behavior can be expressed as follows: “I don’t go to the polls because I’m not interested in it at all.” This model is typical for a significant part of young people who are busy with their own affairs and for whom political life is of no interest at all. For some respondents, this formula indicates a reluctance to explain anything about their attitude to the elections.
The third model is expressed in the following phrase: “I don’t go to elections because I don’t trust anyone, politics is a dirty business.” This voting model explains the non-participation of young people in elections, based on the general rejection of the current government and the institution of elections. Elections are a cynical process; young voters believe their mechanism is well known. For money, the candidate hires a team, they write speeches for him, issue leaflets, teach him how to adapt to voters - and victory is guaranteed. He promises a lot, but does nothing. Young people do not want to be pawns in someone else's game and therefore refuse to participate in it.
So, scientists explain the alienation of young people from politics in Russian society, as well as political absenteeism, by the following factors:
The first factor – society itself is the reason for the decline in the activity of the younger generation and the development of political alienation among young people.
The second factor is that the interests of young people are currently focused on the problems of maintaining their existence and survival in modern conditions.
The third factor is that young people, on the one hand, do not see the need to radically change anything in the current way of life, and on the other hand, do not consider political activity as significant for oneself, finding more promising ways and areas of self-affirmation and personal self-realization.
The fourth factor is that recently there has been an increase in the fundamental incompatibility of the interests, needs and value orientations of young people with politics, as well as a trend of increasing alienation from government bodies at all levels, public and state structures and institutions.
Such electoral behavior is demonstrated not only various kinds informals and radicals, but also a part of student and working youth who are absorbed in problems of an exclusively personal nature. Unfortunately, the number of young people holding this position is gradually increasing.
Thus, one of the most important tasks of the Russian state should be to overcome absenteeism. To do this, it is necessary to gradually introduce into the consciousness of young people the responsibility of citizens for what is happening in the country. A counterbalance to these trends could be (at least as a temporary measure) a constitutional norm establishing mandatory participation in voting for citizens.
In addition, young people expressed their attitude when answering the question “How do you feel about the use of “black” or “dirty” technologies for electoral struggle?” It is significant that only 28% of young people fundamentally reject the use of “black” or “dirty” technologies during elections, while 42% of respondents are absolutely indifferent to these methods of political struggle
Table 10. How do you feel about the use of so-called “black” or “dirty” electoral technologies?
Apparently, it is no coincidence that the prevailing attitude among young people is that politics is a “dirty business.” Regular failure by politicians to keep their promises, political scandals related to corruption, personal dishonesty, dishonesty, dishonesty are the main topics of the media during election campaigns, and therefore have ceased to be sensations. Moreover, they turned out to be organically woven into everyday everyday communications, all of which collectively negatively affects the nature of the electoral activity of young voters and their political preferences.
The resulting discrepancies in the data cannot be explained by statistical errors. And, obviously, it is permissible to talk about quite clearly expressed features of the electoral behavior of boys and girls.
The younger the survey participants, the less they intend to take part in voting, and the more among them are undecided regarding their electoral plans
Thus, among 18–20-year-old future voters, only 31% of respondents intend to participate in the next elections. However, about 40% of respondents do not intend to do this. At the same time, among 21–30-year-olds, the share of those oriented towards participation is much higher - about 40%, but there is also a large share of undecided young people, over 30% of young people.
The study attempted to identify public opinion regarding the sources of information from which young people obtain the necessary data on the political situation.
The main sources of information about political campaigns for young people are television, print mass-media, as well as the media in general
Tell me, where (from what source) do you mainly get information about the political situation in the country?
Table 11
So, for the most part, young people found themselves left to themselves, which naturally affected the character of their general and political socialization, the formation of civic qualities, social and political behavior, including electoral behavior. Over the years of reforms, a special negative psychological atmosphere and its own system of value orientations have developed among young people. It is possible to reverse the existing political and psychological alienation of young people only through real projects of political and social institutions, the creation for them of legal, economic and organizational conditions and guarantees that provide them with a subjective attitude towards the reforms being carried out in the country.
Firstly, the priority of state youth policy. This is the principle of long-term investment in youth policy in general and, first of all, in its social component. This means that the state must fully fulfill its regulatory and socialization functions in relation to youth as a social group, which in the near future should objectively become the main social support of the country’s emerging democratic political system. Increasing the electoral activity of young people, as the results of the study show, will largely depend on how quickly the state will be able to overcome the alienation that has developed among young people from government and social institutions, will be able to create real conditions for the active, subjective inclusion of young people in the creative process of reform in all spheres of public life of the country.
But long-term investment in youth policy does not only mean financial injections into it. This is the formation of ideals, her moral principles and attitudes, on the basis of which the formation of her civic qualities occurs, the essence of her attitude to politics and forms of political participation is revealed. The principle of long-term investment in youth policy suggests that obtaining the desired result in this area, as world practice shows, can be expected within the lifetime of one generation.
Secondly, the need to take into account the consequences of the process of social stratification among young people when forming state youth policy. This means that through the system of state regulation it is necessary to create more or less equal starting opportunities for representatives of various groups of Russian youth. At the same time, it is important to take into account the regional aspects of this problem.
The electoral activity of Russian youth is already seriously influenced by the process of social stratification. Access to education, well-paid work, the opportunity to start a family, purchase housing and obtain other socially significant benefits for the majority of young people are becoming complex and mutually determining problems.
But the problem is that the state needs to attract public attention to youth, find ways and means of including youth themselves in solving their own problems, and help youth mobilize social and financial resources to solve them. Involving youth in solving their own problems is a strategic path for the political socialization of youth, since only on this path do they realize the need for their representatives in government bodies and their influence on politics.
It is necessary to show young people that government development is necessary, first of all, for their youth, that this is “our” state, which protects and defends “our” interests at all levels, that special programs of government bodies are needed that increase the confidence of the population. The media have a special role to play here, providing young people with channels to express their interests and instilling cultural forms of this expression.
The study showed that many aspects of the electoral behavior of young people do not fully correspond to existing stereotypes. In particular, the thesis about the absolute passivity of young people and their predominantly negative attitude towards elections is not confirmed. The study clarified some hitherto unclear assumptions about the motives for youth participation in elections, which introduce new aspects into understanding the prospects for electoral activity of this socio-demographic group in future elections. In addition, the study allows us to diagnose the presence of noticeable protest potential among young people. Today it is not in demand, but if the situation in the region destabilizes and living conditions deteriorate, this potential may manifest itself.
All this allows us to believe that the research conducted is important from the point of view of understanding the situation among young people and for predicting electoral behavior. Conducting such studies should become the norm. Moreover, we should talk about organizing monitoring of the behavior of young voters, for which several features are typical: consistency, the presence of a unified methodology, the influence of the results obtained on the adoption process management decisions.
It seems that our results in many cases require additional analysis and interpretation, which can only be carried out through an exchange of views between scientists and practitioners. In particular, the factors shaping electoral behavior youth. Many of the results provide room for ambiguity and ambiguous predictions. For example, the nature of the specific electoral attitudes of young people, as well as the reasons for the higher potential activity of girls compared to boys, are not clear.
It is advisable to carry out scientific and practical conference, dedicated to the problems of forming the electoral culture of young people and their participation in election campaigns. The organizers of the conference could be the Election Commission of the city of Lipetsk, the Territorial Election Commissions of the region, and the Administration of the city of Lipetsk.
The results of the study provide reason to rethink the effectiveness of some current forms organizing work with young voters.
During the study, interviewers noted a relatively low level of awareness among young people about the work of election commissions at all levels. This has negative consequences for the attitude towards the electoral process and, most importantly, towards its organizers.
Based on the results obtained, it can be argued that the foundations of electoral culture are laid among young people at an early age and, obviously, mostly spontaneously. While it begins to be formed purposefully much later, when young people enter the adolescence. This allows you to only partially correct already formed attitudes.
At present, it is advisable to strengthen work on electoral and legal education, counting on junior schoolchildren, using the most adaptive technologies for this group (olympiads, games, comics, etc.) It is necessary to prepare and publish mass, accessible publications that popularize electoral legislation and electoral practice not only among young people, but also among schoolchildren.
Work with young people cannot be effective if it is carried out by state and municipal government bodies, election commissions without the participation of the youth themselves. First of all, young people united in their own and at the same time authoritative organizations. Today, youth organizations “get involved” in working with young people mainly during the campaigns themselves. Apparently this is not enough. They must become more involved in outreach to the electorate and between election cycles.
Therefore, it is extremely important to provide assistance to youth organizations that promote the representation of youth interests and are able to develop and implement youth projects at both the regional and federal levels.
Apparently, at present, election organizers do not have sufficient knowledge of specific techniques for working with the youth electorate. Meanwhile, working with young voters has its own characteristics, determined, first of all, by the characteristics of youth and the features of youth consciousness.
Potentially effective means Virtual discussion platforms can ensure the growth of the electoral culture of young people, at least among the urban youth electorate.
The problem of forming the electoral culture of young people and their participation in the electoral process should be constantly and comprehensively studied with the participation of researchers representing various branches of science.
Conclusion
The issue of involving young people in the electoral process is extremely important, not only based on the possibility of using this resource during election campaigns. Young people inherit all the achievements and problems in the development of society and the state, while simultaneously forming within themselves the image of the future of the country.
The lack of due attention to the issues of political socialization of young people, their insufficient involvement in participation in the political process lead to the formation of a subculture that is hostile to the foundations of the state, political institutions, and society.
The ruling elite’s ill-conceived youth policy can lead to sad consequences(for example, the protest of all layers and categories of youth and students in France in the spring of 2006). This can happen in any country if there is insufficient attention to the problems of youth and the absence of a clear government policy towards this social group.
Today, two opposing trends can be observed among Russian youth: on the one hand, there is a desire to participate in the political life of the country, on the other, indifference to all political processes taking place in Russia.
However, it is this social group that in 15–20 years is destined to determine the fate of the socio-economic, political and spiritual development Russia. Therefore, the question of what values and political guidelines with which modern Russian youth will replace the current political forces is a strategic question both for the fate of the youth themselves and for the fate of Russian statehood.
A fundamental change in the attitude of young people towards politics and the institution of elections is possible only when young people themselves feel like a real participant and subject of transformation processes in the country. This can happen when the state actually, and not formally, makes youth policy a priority. It is this that must ensure the socialization of young people in the spirit of respect for political institutions and mechanisms of political participation.
In modern Russia, youth is an active, dynamic element that is constantly changing its role and place in the political life of the country, and in society as a whole. From previous spontaneous forms of participation in politics, young people are gradually beginning to move to structured and ordered participation, which is expressed in the formation and development of youth socio-political institutions, such as youth organizations, movements, parties. Not so long ago, young people were the same social group, whose influence on public political processes was minimized. However, every year, the number of girls and boys who are not indifferent to politics is becoming larger and larger. Young people are increasingly beginning to understand the need to participate in politics, linking this with the fact that their participation can change the state and the people living in it for the better. In modern political realities, the successful integration of youth into public relations, efficient use its innovative potential is becoming one of the most important conditions for political development.
As of October 2015, the youth of the Russian Federation are 28.742 million young citizens (aged 15-29 years) - 19% of the total population of the country (146,267 million people). The category of youth in Russia includes Russian citizens from 14 to 30 years old. The involvement of young people in the political process is formed with the help of such components as political institutions, political and legal cultures (including political values, ideology, etc.), political socialization, political participation. In this regard, modernization and improvement of this entire set of measures is necessary.
Since 2005, researchers have actively conducted various surveys and questionnaires on the topic of “youth political activity” in order to determine the level of political activity and political participation among young people. This was necessary in order to understand what thoughts, ideas and moods were most popular among young people at that time. After 2010, no large-scale studies were carried out, because we did not find any results from large-scale surveys across the country. It can be assumed that this is a) due to stability in the political arena and the presence of a dominant political party and b) the lack of interest among researchers in creating new methods of attracting youth to politics, since the previously developed methods were convenient and of high quality and c) young people were no longer interested in to place bets in pre-election races because of their low activity with a varied mechanism of approaches to them, and accordingly there is no need to find out their moods. But speaking frankly, certain processes led to this artificially or naturally hovered in the youth community for a long time, because smart, literate youth are not always convenient for the authorities. The activity of young people is greatly influenced by legal culture, the level of political self-awareness and education; it is they who determine the level, frequency and depth of youth participation in the political life of the country. The level of legal culture is directly proportional to the level of civic activity, the ability to provide feedback to the state, and defend one’s position on various issues.
In Glossary of Political Psychology, D.V. Olshansky, gives a definition of political self-awareness, by which he proposes to understand “the process and result of developing a relatively stable conscious system of ideas of the subject of political relations about himself in the socio-political plane, on the basis of which the subject purposefully builds his relationships with other subjects and objects of politics both within socio-political system, and beyond its borders, and refers to oneself.” In this regard, we consider it especially important for young people to have a firmly formed political consciousness, since they are the most flexible and unstable group of the population; they can easily be persuaded to take any action if they are able to select the right levers of influence. It is necessary to take into account that in order to form the correct self-awareness, which would be based on the principles of peace, human freedoms and democracy, correct political education is necessary. Kodzhaspirova G.M. in the pedagogical dictionary defines political education as “the formation in students of political consciousness, reflecting the relations between states, nations, parties, and the ability to understand them from spiritual, moral and ethical positions.” Only if it is correct and positive influence political education on the consciousness of a young person, there may be an increase in the political activity of young people and their integration into politics. There is an inextricable connection between political education and self-awareness, which is built on the construction of various values and the formation of a young person’s ideology. And for this you need to have a sufficient level of political culture. After all, if a person himself does not understand what its value is and why it is necessary to participate in politics at all, believing that his participation will not bring anything useful, then he will not be able to broadcast a positive view of politics, negatively influencing those around him and introducing doubt into the minds of other people. Man is a creature that is very much subject to influence from the outside; he, like a sponge, absorbs those thoughts and that attitude towards political force that seems most convincing to him. Each of us has heard words like these: “what can I do?”, “these are not my problems,” “nothing will change anyway” - these phrases are regularly heard from the lips of the older generation, and the younger one absorbs and accepts it. A generation of adults tells young people that their participation will not change anything. The leading role in this process is played by the institution of family, of course. After all, it is from small things that transformations and changes begin, first in a person, then in his environment, society, and then in the city and finally the country. But the truth is actually simple - if everyone begins to take part in politics, to use their constitutional rights, then the country will change radically, corruption, malfeasance, election fraud will disappear, and many crimes will no longer be hushed up. After all, people themselves are putting the brakes on all this, believing that their participation will not change anything, not understanding that millions of people think so, thereby giving rise to processes that they themselves are talking about.
Over the past 15 years, there has been an active search for various methods and means of attracting young people to politics and participation in it. The activities of state parties and public organizations to work with the young electorate have intensified. To begin with, it was the creation of youth organizations under the patronage of the presidential administration; their characteristic actions were mass public actions that were of a pronounced socio-political nature. There was also the creation of youth branches of political parties such as Yabloko and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. The state tried to stimulate the political activity of young people by involving them in participation in specific socio-political actions and projects. This was followed by the creation in 2005 of mass youth public organizations (“Ours”, “Young Guard”), which opened representative offices in most Russian regions. Until today, the Young Guards and the youth wing of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, as well as the LDPR, which began to position itself as a young party consisting of a large number of young deputies. Another wave right actions in relation to youth, there was the creation of two public advisory bodies under the federal legislative body - the Federal Assembly of Russia. A Chamber of Young Legislators was created under the Council of Federation, consisting of young deputies from all regions of our country, and under the State Duma, a youth parliament was created, uniting young parliamentarians from all 85 regions. This approach has clearly increased the interest of young people in participating in politics and political processes in the country, instilling in them confidence that they can influence certain processes, directly conveying the voice of young people not only in the regions, but also in small towns and settlements farthest from the center corners of Russia. Of course, I don’t want to say that this surge of interest in the problems of young people and the desire to hear their voices is connected with the upcoming elections to the State Duma, but we have already followed exactly this scenario in various periods. I would like this to become an exception to the rule and for the state to finally begin to place serious bets on the younger generation, who, based on their ambitions and expectations, can follow the path of reforms and transformations without any fear. Today this is especially important because the rules that the world community dictates to us are becoming tougher and more unfair, which means that very soon it will be necessary to launch other internal mechanisms.
To summarize, I would like to note that the political activity of young people is one of the the most important factors development of the political system and the formation of statehood in general. To increase the participation of young people in politics and political processes, it is necessary to introduce a clear and structured system of outreach to the masses, starting from school. It is necessary to begin the formation of a civic ideology starting from the 5th grade through school self-government. As for the older age, it is necessary to change the worldview and views of people, through real examples of control over politicians and political decisions, instilling correct political education and conducting honest, and most importantly voluntary, various political events based on ideology.