MYPLACE THEMATIC REPORT POLITICAL ACTIVISM
MYPLACE: Aims and Objectives The central research question addressed by the MYPLACE (Memory, Youth, Political Legacy & Civic Engagement) Project is: How is young people s social participation shaped by the shadows of totalitarianism and populism in Europe? Key themes addressed include: Understanding the legacy of totalitarianism and populism; Mapping youth participation and civic engagement; Exploring receptivity to new radical and populist political agendas. Case study approach The MYPLACE project used a case study approach, using 30 carefully selected research locations (illustrated in Figure 1) which provided within country contrasts in terms of hypothesised receptivity to radical politics. MYPLACE work strands include: Questionnaire survey (N = 16,935, target = 600 per location) of young people aged 16-25; Follow up interviews (N = 903, target = 30 per location with a sub-sample of these young people; 44 ethnographic studies of youth activism, in 6 thematic clusters; Ethnographic observation at 18 sites of memory including expert interviews with staff (N = 73), focus groups with young people (N = 56) and inter-generational interviews (N = 180). Thematic Reports The aim of this series of thematic reports is to present a general Europe wide thematic analysis of young people s views, attitudes and behaviour towards a range of social and political issues. This report focuses content on Political Activism, and will cover the following areas: Format Voting behaviour (national/local elections; Closeness to political parties; Traditional forms of participation Each page presents a specific theme and contains descriptive narrative, quotes from interviews and two graphs presenting questionnaire survey data. One graph presents the theme by the 30 research locations (colour coded into clusters of locations). These second graph illustrates a demographic breakdown. Quotes cited as Interviewee emanate from follow up interviews with a subset of the survey sample of young people while those cited as Activist are from young people interviewed as part of the ethnographic case studies. Statistical techniques have been used to construct derived variables (Factor Analysis) and test reliability (Cronbach Alpha or Correlations). #
Figure: Voting in the last general election by location Voting behaviour - general/national elections Young people discuss a variety of reasons for their decision whether or not to participate in the electoral process. The MYPLACE survey asked respondents whether they had voted in the last general/national election held in their country. The responses have been standardised on a 0 to 100 scale, with 100 representing the highest rate of voting in a general election amongst those eligible to vote. The overall average for all locations is 70.8 (n= 10,186, sd = 45.5), demonstrating high levels of voting in general elections. This varies from Odense Center (DK) with 94.2 with the highest levels of voting to Nuneaton (GB) with 38. 7 with the lowest levels voting. Figure: Electoral Participation of Young people in the MYPLACE study The voting rate measured in the MYPLACE survey is higher that results published by Eurobarometer and the European Social Survey (ESS). Locations in Denmark, Germany (East) and Latvia have the highest voting rates in general elections. Locations in UK, Russia and Finland have the lowest rates. I: You feel that when you vote, it makes a difference. R: I definitely think it makes a difference. [Interviewee, DENMARK] Figure: Demographics breakdown In our Russia, I think that everything is already decided. Go to vote or don t go to vote, it s all the same. It s all decided: who will come to power, which party will win, and who the President will be. [Interviewee, RUSSIA]
Voting behaviour local elections Figure: Voting in local elections by location Voting in local elections is perceived differently to the act of voting in national elections, with young people placing less importance on their participation. As well as general/national elections, the MYPLACE survey asked respondents whether they had voted in the last local elections held in their area. The responses have been standardised on a 0 to 100 scale, with 100 representing the highest rate of voting in local elections by those eligible to do so. The overall average for all locations is 57.6 (n=8,885, sd = 49.4), demonstrating very moderate voting rates in local elections. This varies from Vic (ES) with 77.5 with the highest voting rates to Nuneaton (GB), 28.5 with the lowest rates of voting. Even though young people may vote in general/national elections, this does not necessarily mean that they will also vote in local elections, as one respondent explained: INT: So you voted in Coventry, was that in the last few years local elections? RES: No, I didn t do local because I m not really local. I spend five, six months of the year here but ultimately the issues which happen here don t affect me because I live in a student bubble, if you want. And so I don t think it s, I couldn t possibly understand the issues because I m not from here. [Interviewee, UK] Locations in Spain, Greece and Denmark have the highest voting rates in local elections compared with locations in UK, Slovakia and Russia where voting is the lowest. Figure: Demographics breakdown
Closeness to political parties Figure: Closeness to political parties by location. Of the various socio-demographic variables explored through the MYPLACE data, only belonging to a higher social class had a significant effect on feeling close to a particular political party. The MYPLACE survey asked respondents whether or not they felt closer to one particular political party than the others operating in their country. The responses have been standardised on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the highest level of closeness to a particular political party. The overall average for all locations is 40.9 (n=15,957, sd = 49.2), demonstrating low to moderate levels of closeness to a particular political party. This varies from Odense East (DK), 68.2 with the highest level of closeness to Sopron (HU), 16.7 with the lowest level of closeness. Locations in Denmark, Spain and Germany (West) feel the closest to a particular political party. Locations in Hungary, Portugal and Latvia feel the least close to political parties. There is also something about the liberals that I think is cool, but the way they do things... I like that one is his own fortune; you are yourself responsible for your life, but at the same time we have to think of the weak in society. [Interviewee, DENMARK] I: And what is the fundamental difference of views between them? R: I don't know. I: So, they are the same? R: Let's say, they are the same if it is about power. All of them want power and say what people want to hear. [Interviewee, HUNGARY] Figure: Demographics breakdown
Traditional forms of participation Figure: Participation in traditional forms of political activism by location In addition to voting in elections young people s engagement can be measured through their broader political participation. The MYPLACE survey asked if respondents had; Volunteered in an election campaign, Contacted a politician or local councillor, Collected signatures, Given a political speech, or Distributed leaflets with a political content. These questions have been used to create a participation percentage on a 0 to 100 scale, with 100 representing most active. The overall average for all locations is 18.3 (n=16,727, sd = 38.7), demonstrating low levels of participation. This varies from Bremen (GER-W), 31.3, with the highest rates of Traditional participation to Sopron (HUN), 1.7 with the lowest rates. INT You sent a letter to Gordon Brown. RES Yes, erm. More recently as well, actually, I've been in touch with my local MP, erm, I'm trying to present a case to him, erm, regarding the Job Centre. I believe some of the Job Centre's policies, erm, they try to push their policy over the law. Er, with what people are entitled to and things like that, and obviously I take this from my work experience and my personal experience as well. [Interviewee, UK] Locations in Germany (East and West) and the UK have the highest traditional participation rates. Locations in Hungary, Portugal and Latvia have the lowest rates. What can we do? I don t know, honestly, I don t know. I, at least in my life, don t do anything to change it for better or for worse. I am a completely neutral person. I really don t know. I have no idea [Interviewee, PORTUGAL] Figure: Demographics breakdown
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MYPLACE Partners General Acknowledgement We would like to thank the young people across Europe who participated in this study, all the fieldworkers and the various public, private and voluntary organisations who supported the fieldwork. We hope to have done justice to the collective efforts of so many people in our analyses. Without funding under the EU s Framework 7 programme none of this work would have been possible.