Political participation, democratisation and citizens\u27 values in Europe

This article addresses the issue of political participation in the context of the process of democratisation, social development, and social changes in general. Particular emphasis is placed on the attempt to explain the differences in the levels of political participation, the differences between European countries, and the role that values play in these differences. Based on data from the "European Social Survey" (ESS), multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the analytical model of the factors of political participation in various European countries at both the individual level and the macro societal level. In so doing, changes over time and differences between old and young democracies were also observed. The results suggest that the differences between old and new democracies persist. In light of this trend, one particularly important finding is that values play an important role in political participation, but only in the developed countries of Western Europe which have a long democratic tradition.Članek obravnava problematiko politične participacije tako, da jo umesti v kontekst procesov demokratizacije, družbenega razvoja in družbenih sprememb nasploh. Poseben poudarek je dan na poskus pojasnjevanja ravni politične participacije, razlik med evropskimi državami in še posebej vloge vrednot, ki jih različni avtorji povezujejo s procesi demokratizacije in družbenega razvoja. Na podlagi podatkov evropske družboslovne anketne raziskave "European Social Survey" (ESS) se z uporabo multiple linearne regresije preverja model dejavnikov politične participacije tako na ravni posameznikov kot na makro družbeni ravni evropskih držav. Pri tem se opazuje tudi spremembe v času in razlike med starimi in mladimi demokracijami. Rezultati nakazujejo ohranjanje razlik med mladimi in starimi demokracijami. Pri tem je še posebej pomembna ugotovitev, da so vrednote pomemben dejavnik politične participacije, vendar le v razvitih državah zahodne Evrope z daljšo demokratično tradicijo