Political participation of Slovenian youth

Politična participacija je problem, ki zaradi vse večje apolitičnosti ljudi zaposluje vedno več raziskovalcev. Še posebej pa je politična participacija problematična, ker se vse manj mladih zanima za politiko, saj, kot so prepričani nekateri avtorji, »na mladih svet stoji«. Politika je kot interesno področje med mladimi na zadnjem mestu, zato ni nič nenavadnega, da mladi svojega prostega časa ne namenjajo ukvarjanju s političnimi aktivnostmi, ampak ga raje preživijo tako, da se ukvarjajo s športom, obiščejo sorodnike ali kako drugače. Med mladimi je, ne glede na spol, zaznati vedno večje nezaupanje v politične akterje in nezanimanje za politične zadeve, kar se kaže tudi v spremljanju politike in razpravljenju o njej. Kljub temu pa moramo priznati, da med mladimi vseeno obstaja neko zanimanje za politiko. Čeprav se opredeljujejo, da jih politika ne zanima, pa po drugi strani v veliki meri izražajo svojo kritičnost do politike in njene ureditve z uporabo nekonvencionalnih oblik politične participacije, kot so protesti, peticije in bojkoti, medtem ko upada zanimanje za konvencionalno politiko, saj bi redki kandidirali za politične funkcije.Political participation is a problem that occupies more and more researchers because of increasing apathy of the society towards politics. Some authors are convinced that the »world\u27s future lies with youth« and because young people are getting less involved in politics their lack of political participation is particularly problematic. As a field of interest, politics occupies the last place with youththerefore it is not unusual for young people to spend their free time playing sports or visiting relatives rather than being engaged in political activities. The increasing distrust in political figures among young men and women along with their uninterest in political matters can be noticed in their following and discussions on politics. Despite all this there is some interest in politics among youth. Although they claim they are uninterested, they criticize politics and its regulations using unconventional forms of political participation, such as protests, petitions and boycottshowever, their interest in conventional politics is decreasing as only few would run as a candidate for political functions