Youth, history and a crisis of democracy? perspectives from Croatia

Abstract

Recent research on attitudes to politics and politicians suggests young people are dissatisfied and alienated from the political process. There is widespread agreement in the published literature that young people generally perceive politicians as corrupt, boring, or hard to understand, and as self-interested and removed from ordinary people’s lives. However, there is no consensus about the possible meanings and consequences of such political cynicism for youth political participation, disengagement or attitudes towards democracy. This chapter explores the relationship between political cynicism and pro-democratic attitudes, specifically focusing on attitudes towards democratic and authoritarian political systems among young people in Croatia.