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Contenuto archiviato il 2022-12-23

Political Trust and Political Participation amongst Young People from Ethnic Minorities in the NIS and EU: A social-psychological investigation

Obiettivo

Socio-political changes in Europe such as the transition from a communist to a democratic political system in NIS and the further integration and enlargement of European Union are associated with a changing relationship between individuals and multi-level governing authorities. People and particularly young people often question the legitimacy of political institutions; reject conventional forms of political participation whilst new forms of civic engagement emerge.

The proposed research programme is concerned with understanding two of the basic components of citizenship in young people from different ethnic groups: the development of trust in the political system, and willingness to participate in the political process. In particular, it is focused on understanding the role played by social psychological factors such as patterns of identification, the attribution of motives to politicians and political institutions, and perceptions of political competence, in engendering, or inhibiting the development of, trust in different levels of governance in European countries with differing political trajectories. It is concerned with the trust in the ability and willingness of different governing institutions to safeguard the human rights of its peoples, including immigrant groups, and to resolve in a just way inter-ethnic and inter-national conflicts. It has been acknowledged that the concept of trust is an important factor for both the success of a democratic system (Mishler and Rose, 2001) and for inter-group conflict resolution (Tyler and Degoey, 1996). Levels of trust can define people's reactions to authorities, influence their involvement in the political process and determine the acceptance of decisions made by authorities (Tyler and Degoey, 1966). Trust is also likely to have a dynamic relationship with political alienation and social exclusion. The proposed research is also concerned with modelling the relationship between levels of trust, its social-psychological determinants, processes of identification and participation in formal and informal political actions.

It adopts a cross-national and multi-methodological design. Using focus groups and self-completed questionnaires, data will be collected in four EU member states (Greece, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom) and in four NIS (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine). The sample will consist of 15-18 year olds from the majority and ethnic minority groups in each of the participating countries.

This research will make a theoretical contribution by developing a theory of social psychology of trust and furthering our understanding of how multiple identifications interact together to influence social action. It will also contribute to political, educational and policy debates about how to reverse political apathy and develop trust in emerging governing institutions at local, national, European and wider international levels.

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Coordinatore

University of Surrey
Contributo UE
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Indirizzo
Guildford
GU2 7XH Surrey
Regno Unito

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Partecipanti (8)