Democratic values and political attitudes in the Macedonian young people

Abstract

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)