Abstract
In the study of political participation, the question arises of whether young people use new media in their political participation as a ‘political watchdog’, ‘virtual agora’, or ‘political coliseum’? This paper examines how young citizens use new media in political participation in Russia and Kazakhstan. Drawing on Qualtrics surveys (n=2,400) and semi-structured interviews (n=90) conducted in 54 cities, towns, and villages in 2019-2020, I demonstrate that both Russian and Kazakhstani young individuals use new media as a mixture of ‘political watchdog’, ‘virtual agora’, and ‘political coliseum’. Results revealed that online activists and observers are getting more in numbers in both countries. While studying these usages, I also found that intentional political disengagement and disenchantment might signify contestation for some young people. My study sheds light on how new media are used in political participation in the post-communist context, developing cross-national comparative studies in non-competitive statist political systems. In addition, I offer a novel methodological approach to study Russia and Kazakhstan, focusing simultaneously on urban and rural areas.
Presenters
Yerkebulan SairambayStudent, PhD, The University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
New Media, Political Participation, Political Watchdog, Virtual Agora, Political Coliseum
