Dynamics of Youth Agency in Times of Crisis: Beyond the Impasse in the Mediterranean? by Nadine Sika

Author:Nadine Sika [Sika, Nadine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781000532517
Goodreads: 59858498
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

The influence of the socio-economic on the political

Young people in general are interested in mobilization and protest activities, for instance, a large percentage who have never participated in such activities are willing to participate in the future. In Turkey for instance, while only 5.5 percent participated in peaceful demonstrations, 26 percent argue that they have never done so but might do so in the future. Similarly, in Lebanon, 8.7 have participated in peaceful demonstrations, while 30 percent argue that they might do so in the future. In Tunisia, 17 percent have participated in demonstrations, while 24 percent argue they might in the future. In Morocco, 9 percent participated in peaceful demonstrations and 34 percent said they could do that in the future.

The socioeconomic grievances of young people, as shown in the previous section, are at the heart of their insecurities and dissatisfaction with their respective regimes. They perceive these insecurities and socio economic problems as a direct consequence of their regimes’ failure to address these issues. Youth in the region are aware of the importance of good governance and the rule of law, while they also perceive a discrepancy between what should be and what actually is happening within their regimes. For instance, when asked about their satisfaction with the governance process, young people were very dissatisfied, ranging from 80 percent in Lebanon, to 76 percent in Tunisia to 66 percent in the OPT, to 45 percent in Turkey. Morocco is the only exception, with 15 percent dissatisfaction rate.

The civic and political participation rates of young people vary depending on their political system, and the authoritarian structure under which they live. For example, young people in Turkey and Morocco, who have the least dissatisfaction rates with their governance, are the most likely to vote. For instance, 51 percent in Morocco and 78 percent in Turkey have participated in their last local elections.

Young people, especially those who are politically active believe that they can influence and mobilize a large number of young people, especially through making the arguments that socio-economic grievances are related to bad governance and to the authoritarian regime types they live in. The fieldwork for P2Y demonstrates that the majority of young people perceive socio-economic and political grievances as inseparable. For instance, in Lebanon one participant in a focus group argued that the current political system in Lebanon should change, to be able to attain economic and social equity. He argued that the corrupted political elite in addition to an outdated electoral system are at the heart of Lebanon’s problems, and this is why young people should first change the political system, mobilize against the current elite, to be able to advance socio-economic change. ‘There is a need to mobilize people to claim their rights … and also make these rights accessible’ (Harb, 2015, p. 3). One Lebanese young man explained how his pro-LGBTQ organization, Helem, links its mobilization strategies through amalgamating political and socio-economic claims. For instance, this organization, in addition to other organizations like Meem, and

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