SOME FINDINGS ON THE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF GENERATION Z YOUTH IN TÜRKİYE
Received: 28th November 2024 Revised: 7th December 2024, 10th December 2024 Accepted: 5th December 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2024.111.4864Keywords:
Youth, Generation Z, Politics, Political Behaviour.Abstract
In recent years, there has been significant interest in generational studies across various disciplines of social sciences. Particularly, the political participation behaviors and voting tendencies of individuals known as Generation Z have drawn the attention of both academicians and political decision-makers. However, in Türkiye, studies examining the relationship between generational voter tendencies and political participation preferences are limited and are generally conducted on a regional or educational basis, focusing on specific provinces, regions, or schools. Based on the assumption that a descriptive and explanatory study on the general political participation tendencies of Generation Z in Türkiye is needed, this research was designed. The study considered citizens living in Türkiye as the population, and a representative sample was determined. Since the variable in question would be measured at the societal level, the sample was distributed at the NUTS II level. To achieve a representative sample, a minimum size of 417 was calculated with a ±3% margin of error at a 95% confidence level. Accounting for potential missing data, the sample size was increased to 500. The sample included 26 provinces and 31 districts from Level 2 of Türkiye's Statistical Regional Units Classification. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences), focusing on the general voter tendencies of Generation Z. The analyses included reliability analysis, frequency analysis, chi-square tests, and difference tests. The findings revealed that 85.8% of participants were not members of any political party, and 67.4% did not believe in solving problems through politics. Furthermore, 41.6% identified themselves as sympathetic voters, while 34.2% considered party leadership important in voting decisions. Additionally, 66.2% of respondents stated that Türkiye needs a new political party, and 60.6% expressed support for a return to the parliamentary system.
References
Alwin, D. F., & Krosnick, J. (1991). Aging, cohorts and the stability of socio-political orientations over the life span. American Journal of Sociology, 97, 169–195. https://doi.org/10.1086/229744
Alwin, D. F., & McCammon, R. J. (2007). Rethinking generations. Research in Human Development, 4(3-4), 219–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427600701663072
Bee, C. (2021). The civic and political participation of young people in a context of heightened authoritarianism: The case of Turkey. Journal of Youth Studies, 24(1), 40–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2019.1683523
Benedicto, J. (2008). Young people and politics: Disconnected, sceptical, an alternative, or all of it at the same time? Young People and Political Participation: European Research Young People’s Studies Magazine, 8(81), 13–31.
Dalton, R., & Wattenberg, M. (2000). Parties without partisans: Political change in advanced industrial democracies. Oxford University Press.
Easton, D., & Dennis, J. (1969). Children in the political system: Origins of political legitimacy. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Erdoğan, E. (1999). Türk gençliği ve siyasal katılım boyutları: Bir katılım endeksi çalışması. İstanbul Strateji/Mori.
Grasso, M. T. (2014). Age-period-cohort analysis in a comparative context: Political generations and political participation repertoires. Electoral Studies, 33, 63–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2014.02.006
Hart, J., & Henn, M. (2017). Neoliberalism and the unfolding patterns of young people's political engagement and political participation in contemporary Britain. Societies, 7(4), 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc7040033
Henn, M., & Oldfield, B. (2016). Cajoling or coercing: Would electoral engineering resolve the young citizen–state disconnect? Journal of Youth Studies, 19(9), 1259–1280. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2016.1154935
Jennings, M. K., & Niemi, R. G. (1974). Political character in adolescence. Princeton University Press.
Kalaycıoğlu, E. (2022). Party identification and vote choice in Turkey. In A. Çarkoğlu & E. Kalaycıoğlu (Eds.), Elections and public opinion in Turkey (pp. 169–192). Routledge.
Kitanova, M. (2020). Youth political participation in the EU: Evidence from a cross-national analysis. Journal of Youth Studies, 23(7), 819–836. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2019.1636951
KONDA. (2022). Gençlerin insan hakları algısı: Kamuoyu araştırması, Ekim ’22. https://konda.com.tr/rapor/174/genclerin-insan-haklari-algisi-arastirmasi
Levickaitė, R. (2010). Generations X Y Z: How social networks form the concept of the world without borders – The case of Lithuania. Limes, 3(2), 170–183. https://doi.org/10.3846/limes.2010.17
Mair, P. (2000). Partyless democracy: Solving the paradox of New Labour? New Left Review, 2, 21–35.
Mair, P., & Van Biezen, I. (2001). Party membership in twenty European democracies, 1980–2000. Party Politics, 7(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068801007001001
Prensky, M. (2011). Digital natives, digital immigrants. NCB University Press, 9(5), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816
Putnam, R. D. (2007). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster.
Russell, A. T., Johnston, R. J., & Pattie, C. J. (1992). Thatcher’s children: Exploring the links between age and political attitudes. Political Studies, 40(4), 742–756. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.1992.tb01792.x
Russell, Ö. Ç. (2016). Türkiye’de seçime ve geleneksel olmayan siyasal faaliyetlere katılımı etkileyen bireysel seviye faktörler. AÜSBF Dergisi, 71(2), 437–463. https://doi.org/10.1501/SBFder_0000002399
Sears, D. O. (1990). Whither political socialization research? The question of persistence. In O. Ichilov (Ed.), Political socialization, citizenship education and democracy (pp. 60–109). Teachers College Press.
Sears, D. O., & Levy, S. (2003). Childhood and adult political development. In D. O. Sears et al. (Eds.), Oxford handbook of political psychology (pp. 60–109). Oxford University Press.
Sloam, J. (2016). Diversity and voice: The political participation of young people in the European Union. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 18(3), 521–537. https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148115620975
Stoker, L., & Jennings, M. K. (1995). Life-cycle transitions and political participation: The case of marriage. American Political Science Review, 89(2), 421–433. https://doi.org/10.2307/2082435
Tezcan, M. (2000). Sosyo-kültürel değişim sürecinde Türkiye’deki gençlik. In Türkiye ve Avrupa’da Gençlik (pp. 94–103). Konrad Adenauer Vakfı ve Türk Demokrasi Vakfı.
Tuna, Y. B. (2013). İnternet kuşağı ve siyasi aktivizm: Genç siviller “yaş”lanıyor. In Gençlik halleri: 2000’li yıllar Türkiye’sinde genç olmak (pp. 270–291). Efil Yayınevi.
Wasburn, P. C., & Covert, T. J. (2017). Making citizens: Political socialization research and beyond. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50243-4
Wattenberg, M. (2012). Where have all the voters gone? Harvard University Press.
Williams, K. C., & Page, R. A. (2011). Marketing to the generations. Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business, 3(1), 37–53.
Whittier, N. (1997). Political generations, micro-cohorts, and the transformation of social movements. American Sociological Review, 62(5), 760–778. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657359
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
