Political Disengagement Rising Globally, Survey

CAIRO, Nov. 6 (SEE) - A recent global poll conducted by Pew research center, US, suggested that many people around the world are disengaged from politics, but could be motivated to participate on issues like health care, poverty and education.

 

The survey was conducted in 14 countries; Argentina, Kenya, Brazil, Mexico, Greece, Nigeria, Hungary, Philippines, Indonesia, Poland, Israel, South Africa, Italy and Tunisia.

The survey was made within the program “Spring 2018 Global Attitudes”, face-to-face to better understand public attitudes toward civic engagement.

 

The study, conducted in collaboration with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) as part of their International Consortium on Closing Civic Space (iCon), includes countries from Africa, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, encompassing a wide range of political systems. According to Pew’s report, the study cannot reflect the globe as a whole. But with 14,875 participants across such a wide variety of countries, it remains a useful snapshot of key, cross-national patterns in civic life.

 

The survey finds that, aside from voting, relatively few people take part in other forms of political and civic participation. Still, some types of engagement are more common among young people, those with more education, those on the political left and social network users. And certain issues – especially health care, poverty and education – are more likely than others to inspire political action. Here are key takeaways from the survey, which was conducted from May 20 to Aug. 12, 2018, via face-to-face interviews.

 

Most people vote, but other forms of participation are much less common. Across the 14 nations polled, a median of 78% say they have voted at least once in the past. Another 9% say they might vote in the future, while 7% say they would never vote.

 

With at least nine-in-ten reporting they have voted in the past, participation is highest in three of the four countries with compulsory voting (Brazil, Argentina and Greece). Voting is similarly high in both Indonesia (91%) and the Philippines (91%), two countries that do not have compulsory voting laws.

 

The lowest percentage is found in Tunisia (62%), which has only held two national elections since the Jasmine Revolution overthrew long-serving President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 and spurred the Arab Spring protests across the Middle East.

 

Attending a political campaign event or speech is the second most common type of participation among those surveyed – a median of 33% have done this at least once. Fewer people report participating in volunteer organizations (a median of 27%), posting comments on political issues online (17%), participating in an organized protest (14%) or donating money to a social or political organization (12%).

When asked what types of issues could get them to take political action, such as contacting an elected official or participating in a demonstration, people in 13 of 14 countries rank poor health care as either their first or second choice among the issues tested. Many also place poverty and poor-quality schools among the top two issues.

In 10 of the nations polled, people ages 50 and older are more likely than 18- to 29-year-olds to say they have voted in at least one election. The gap between the oldest and youngest respondents who have voted is more than 40 percentage points in Tunisia and South Africa, and it is more than 20 points in Mexico, Poland, Greece and Kenya.

 

Those ages 18-29 are more likely than older adults to post comments online about social or political issues in 12 of the 14 countries surveyed. For example, 36% of Poles ages 18-29 have posted their views online, compared with only 4% of those 50 and older.