Understanding civic engagement among young Roma and young Turkish people in Turkey

Abstract

Although a number of aspects of earlier experiences correlate with later civic engagement (Sherrod 2007), the role of different factors in driving the level of young people’s engagement is not clearly understood. This qualitative study set out to understand those factors in Turkey. Eight focus groups were conducted with 55 young Roma and Turkish people, with different groups being conducted according to participants’ ethnicity, gender and age (16–18 year olds vs. 20–26 year olds). Analysis revealed specific themes in terms of the political and civic engagement of different sub-groups. However, almost all participants expressed that they did not have enough information about their rights and obligations as citizens. They also identified the different barriers which they perceived as impeding their political involvement and participation.