An Introduction into the Civic Dimension of Social Exclusion: the Case of Romanian Youth

Abstract

A considerable part of the Romanian society does not have the necessary means to support a decent living standard that would allow people to be socially integrated. Among the multiple facets of integration, youth is particularly affected by the civic dimension of social exclusion. The paper tries to find out the possible explanations for the occurrence of this phenomenon. We first present the way in which a poor material situation can impact negatively upon a young person’s chances to be included in society. Then we underline the importance of education, the macro economic factors and also the values of youth. In the study we have performed quantitative analyses, on available youth databases. The results show that the material and social resources may encourage civic participation when the situation is better, and when it is worse, will increase the potential for civic protest. Also, the education and the view on important issues, such as fight against corruption, are important factors that increase civic participation. However, youth have a low level of political socialization that is a possible explanation of their low level of civic involvement.