Decentralisation in Montevideo: The Effects of Inequality and Party Mobilisation on Electoral Participation at the Territorial Level

Purpose – This study investigates the role of civic education in shaping political participation among Generation Z in Indonesia, particularly in the context of peaceful elections. It aims to address the gap in understanding how the integration of digital and social media within civic education can empower young voters to engage constructively in the democratic process. Methods/Design/Approach – The study employs a conceptual approach using Theory Synthesis to integrate fragmented theories and literature on civic education, youth political participation, and peaceful elections. The literature was selected based on specific criteria, ensuring relevance to the subject matter. Data were synthesized to create a cohesive theoretical framework that connects the role of civic education with the political engagement of Generation Z. Findings – The study found that effective civic education, which integrates digital technology and social media, can significantly enhance Generation Z's political awareness and active participation. The findings suggest that current civic education curricula need to be updated to reflect the digital realities of Generation Z, thus improving the quality of their participation in elections and supporting a more peaceful democratic process. Originality/Value – This research contributes to the field by proposing a more adaptive civic education model that aligns with the technological inclinations of Generation Z. It offers a novel perspective by highlighting the importance of social media as a tool for political learning and engagement, an area often overlooked in existing studies. Practical Implications – The study underscores the need for educational policymakers to revise civic education curricula, incorporating digital and social media tools to better engage Generation Z. Implementing these changes could enhance the political literacy and participation of young voters, ultimately supporting more democratic and peaceful elections in Indonesia. Keywords Civic education, generation Z, political participation, peaceful elections, digital integration Paper type Conceptual paper

This paper explores the complex interplay between multilingual identities, social belonging, and political participation. It delves into how individuals navigate their multilingual identities within different social and political contexts and how they influence their sense of belonging and engagement in civic life. The research aims to shed light on how languages serve as bridges and barriers in social integration and political activism. Multilingualism is a complex phenomenon that plays a crucial role in shaping individuals' identities, social interactions, and political engagement. This Review explores the role of languages in shaping social belonging and political participation, highlighting how multilingual individuals navigate their identities in diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. Multilingual individuals often develop multifaceted identities shaped by their proficiency in multiple languages and experiences in multilingual environments. These identities are dynamic and fluid, influenced by language use, cultural background, and social context. Multilingualism allows individuals to express different aspects of their identity, negotiate cultural differences, and navigate complex social landscapes. Languages play a crucial role in shaping social belonging by providing individuals with a sense of connection to their communities and cultures. Multilingual individuals often use different languages to communicate with different social groups, reinforcing their sense of belonging and cultural identity. Additionally, languages can serve as markers of cultural heritage, allowing individuals to maintain and celebrate their linguistic and cultural diversity. Furthermore, languages also play a significant role in shaping political participation. Multilingual individuals often use their language skills to engage in political discourse, advocate for their rights, and participate in democratic processes. Language can serve as a tool for empowerment, enabling individuals to voice their opinions, mobilize communities, and influence political outcomes. In conclusion, multilingualism is a dynamic and multifaceted phenomenon that shapes individuals' social belonging and political participation. By exploring the role of languages in shaping identities and facilitating social and political engagement, this Review provides insights into the complex interplay between language, identity, and society. Understanding the role of languages in shaping social belonging and political participation can inform policies and practices that promote linguistic diversity, cultural inclusivity, and democratic participation in diverse societies. Keywords: Multilingual, Social, Identity, Political.

Considering that the number of college student beginner voters in the Indonesian 2019 General Election has experienced a drastic increase, this research aims to determine the effect of political trust and vote-buying on college students’ political participation in the general elections, partially, and simultaneously. This research was conducted on 348 active college students in Surabaya, using the purposive sampling technique. The scale was used to measure political participation, vote-buying, and the researchers composed the college students’ political trust. The data analysis techniques used to test the research hypotheses were the Hierarchical Regression Test, Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA), and the Andrew Hayes Process. The results of the analysis show that political trust (p=0.038), vote-buying (p=0.001) partially, and simultaneously (p=0.000) affect political participation. Partially, political trust has a positive effect, while on the other hand, vote-buying has a negative effect. In addition, vote-buying is also a significant moderator variable used to strengthen the influence of political trust (β=0.658, t=1.984, p=0.048) among college students concerning political participation. In this study, vote-buying acts as a quasi-moderator because the effect of Z (vote buying) on Y (political participation) and the effect of Z*X1 (vote-buying*political trust) interaction on Y; has been proven to be significant. It can be concluded that political trust positively and significantly influences college students’ political participation in the general elections.

This article examines the nexus of voters' education and political participation in the democratic Nigerian elections. The need for the citizens to understand the importance of receiving the right education about elections and also involving in political development must be addressed. Democratic process and people's engagement in elections are important factors to build a country. The effect of voter education will motivate the electorate to participate in various elections in Nigeria. The exploratory research method and secondary data were applied through historical and explorative studies and secondary data from articles, journals, government gazettes, and internet sources. The Nigerian state has witnessed various elections, but some flaws have impeded some of the elections due to low turnout by the people who vote. Nigerian voter education is a nonpartisan platform where people can learn more about their rights and responsibilities as voters in Nigeria. Over twenty years after the Fourth Republic of Nigeria in 1999, it is widely believed that while democracy appears to be surviving, development and results have been slow. The essence of maintaining better political participation of the people in elections is connected to the level of voter’s education, which can pave way for involvement in peaceful elections in the country. The challenges observed are political interference and lack of funding in strengthening voter education activities by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This study concludes that the federal government should put in place voters' education mechanism at all levels and create better funding strategy to enlighten the citizenry on the need to get involved in voting activities for the political development in Nigeria.

This article analyses the aspects of the development of Russian legislation regulating the mechanism of parties 'participation in elections, the procedure for the creation of political parties, changes in the legal status of an electoral association, the prospects for the use of majority and proportional electoral systems, as well as the system of guarantees established following the results of parties' participation in elections. The author substantiates the idea that the improvement of the electoral legislation of the Russian Federation is to find the optimal type of electoral system, which provides an effective mechanism for the implementation of the people's representation at the federal, regional and municipal levels. The authors conclude that the development of new provisions in the field of electoral law on the assessment of the powers of political parties as the main collective participants in the electoral process, the definition of the scope and content of the rights of electoral associations to participate in specific actions and procedures will contribute to further democratisation and improvement of the electoral process.

A growing body of work has examined the different forms of political participation engaged with by young Muslims in a variety of Muslim-minority contexts. However, the factors that shape the political participation of Muslims has been frequently overlooked, with the focus primarily on the varied types of participations. Given that the lived experiences of young Muslims frequently entail distinctive challenges, with a range of discriminations being negotiated, there is a need to examine how such factors shape political participation. In this paper, our focus is primarily on how Islamophobia intersects with, and shapes, the political participations of young Muslims in Scotland. We conceptualise Islamophobia as a form of governmentality and build on existing debates by highlighting how Islamophobic governmentality shapes political participation and how space is central to its operation. We demonstrate that when Islamophobia intersects with political participation, it can discipline and marginalise political agency, but it can also engender political and activist resistance. When it works as a barrier to participation, it is pushing young Muslims into the marginal spaces of society. While political resistance is a process of spatial reorientation, aiming to move young Muslims into more public and visible spaces in order to challenge the marginalisation of Islamophobia.

ABSTRACTSociologists mostly treat age-at-arrival as a dichotomous variable whereas economists often approach it as a continuous variable. This article extends this debate by addressing a set of political behaviours that has mostly been the purview of political scientists. Analysing restricted, geocoded data from the National Survey of Latinos on Politics and Civic Participation, this article examines how age-at-arrival and civic institutions shape political participation among Latino immigrants. Logistic regression and random effects models suggest three key findings. First, age-at-arrival has a strong impact on participation, with child arrivals showing the highest level of participation and midlife arrivals reporting the lowest level of participation. Second, there are no ethnic differences in the likelihood of participating in non-electoral politics among Latinos. Third, involvements with civic institutions significantly shape political participation, confirming these institutions’ potential role in cultivating political efficacy and participatory skills. At the same time, the impact of civic organisations on political participation is contingent on both the type of organisation and the immigrant’s age-at-arrival, with ethnic organisations playing an important role in the political resocialisation process. Finally, ethnic concentration at the county has limited positive impact on political participation.

Student elections are considered the only way for democratic practices for Yemeni youth as the democratic process has stopped in Yemen since 2014. The current study aims to investigate the relationship between voting in the election of students and national responsibility. It also seeks to examine the effect of personality factors (extroversion and conscientiousness) on participation in elections. This study was conducted on 157 Yemeni students, 60% male, aged 18-37 (M=23.65, SD= 3.96). Results revealed that extraversion and time distance between the electoral centre and the student's residence were a negative significant predictor of participation in student elections. The results also showed that previous participation in the elections was a good predictor of subsequent participation in the elections. Moreover, the results revealed that personal relationships are an essential factor in students’ political decisions. The results showed that the presence of a friend of the voter on the list of candidates was a strong predictor of participation in the elections. Furthermore, the result unveiled positive correlations between national responsibility and both extraversion and conscientiousness. The results were discussed in light of the literature and the social and cultural context of Yemeni students in Turkey, which enhances the understanding of electoral behavior and the factors affecting it.

This research examines the impact of political apathy on electoral participation in Nigeria and South Africa in the 2019 general elections. The paper determined the causes of political apathy, its impact on the electoral process as well as its trend (voter turnout) in the general elections of 2019 in Nigeria and South. This research was borne out of the need to address the increasing rate of political apathy, especially voter turnout in both democratic nations. The research argued that the causes of political apathy, particularly poor voter turnout in the two countries are attributable to political marginalisation, corruption, lack of trust in the electoral process, political violence and militarisation of the electoral system. The research further found that there is no significant difference in the nature and trend of the political apathy (voter turnout) in both countries. The Rational Choice Theory (Downs, 1957) and the Democratic Deprivation Theory (Ebenezer, 2017) were used to theoretically justify the potentials of political apathy in undermining democratic participation. This study used descriptive research design to determine the impact of political apathy on the 2019 national elections in both countries. Trends and nature of political apathy, particularly voter turnout in the two countries were ascertained using secondary data and the analysis was based on content analysis in view of the historical trends and nature of the research. The research concluded that there is an obvious decline in political participation in both countries due to lack of trust in the electoral process, among others, which has largely undermined the interest of the electorate in the political systems of both countries. This research, therefore, recommends that political elite in both countries should be transparent, honest, responsible and responsive in order to encourage voter turnout in both countries at future national elections. A free, fair and credible electoral process, the study also recommended, would help rebuild citizens’ confidence in both countries’ electoral processes.

Background Long-standing territorial disparities have evolved into novel forms of inequality, exacerbated by a decline in social status and the protection afforded to citizens. Territorial inequality extends beyond economic disparities in income and wealth, encompassing unequal access to fundamental rights and opportunities such as essential services, infrastructure, and education. These disparities pose significant challenges to comprehensive socioeconomic development. This paper is part of a broader research project on “left-behindness,” aiming to explore stakeholders' perceptions of the underlying drivers of territorial inequalities, as well as the governance mechanisms and policy tools aimed at mitigating these issues. Methods The analysis draws on data from 20 focus groups conducted between November and December 2023, involving 98 national, regional and local stakeholders from seven European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Serbia, and Spain. Results The findings reveal a notable disconnect between national-level discourses on territorial inequalities and the priorities of local and regional stakeholders across the seven countries. While territorial disparities are acknowledged within policy frameworks, efforts to address these issues are often impeded by governance challenges, including tensions between centralization and decentralization, fragmented coordination, and insufficient horizontal and vertical cooperation among actors at different levels of government. Conclusions The research underscores the necessity of adopting place-sensitive, context-specific approaches to address territorial inequalities. It highlights the need to address demographic challenges, geographic isolation, and inequitable funding mechanisms, particularly in underserved regions. Aligning policy interventions with the diverse and context-dependent challenges faced by “left-behind” areas is essential for the effective mitigation of territorial disparities.

BackgroundLong-standing territorial disparities have evolved into novel forms of inequality, exacerbated by a decline in social status and the protection afforded to citizens. Territorial inequality extends beyond economic disparities in income and wealth, encompassing unequal access to fundamental rights and opportunities such as essential services, infrastructure, and education. These disparities pose significant challenges to comprehensive socioeconomic development. This paper is part of a broader research project on “left-behindness,” aiming to explore stakeholders' perceptions of the underlying drivers of territorial inequalities, as well as the governance mechanisms and policy tools aimed at mitigating these issues.MethodsThe analysis draws on data from 20 focus groups conducted between November and December 2023, involving 98 national, regional and local stakeholders from seven European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Serbia, and Spain.ResultsThe findings reveal a notable disconnect between national-level discourses on territorial inequalities and the priorities of local and regional stakeholders across the seven countries. While territorial disparities are acknowledged within policy frameworks, efforts to address these issues are often impeded by governance challenges, including tensions between centralization and decentralization, fragmented coordination, and insufficient horizontal and vertical cooperation among actors at different levels of government.ConclusionsThe research underscores the necessity of adopting place-sensitive, context-specific approaches to address territorial inequalities. It highlights the need to address demographic challenges, geographic isolation, and inequitable funding mechanisms, particularly in underserved regions. Aligning policy interventions with the diverse and context-dependent challenges faced by “left-behind” areas is essential for the effective mitigation of territorial disparities.

This article discusses women and family-based voter education strategies to increase community participation in regional elections in Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Voter education plays an important role in strengthening democracy and generating public interest, then women and families are important segments in the context of political participation in Indonesia. This study uses qualitative methods, analyzed with political participation theory. Data was collected by means of document study and interviews. The documents analyzed refer to articles, books, scientific reports and various studies related to the discussion, while the informants interviewed are women voters and their families. This study concludes that as an election organizer, the KPU at the district/city level can adopt the concept of a social learning framework to observe the configuration and dynamics in organizing elections. Social learning involves commissioners and the public in learning from peers, first-time voters, and available resources. Political education can also strengthen democratization efforts and overcome negative perceptions of politics. Voter education plans must consider the development of autonomy, open-mindedness, efficiency, transparency, and popular or non-formal education. To increase community participation in elections, women and their families must maximize their role as segments of voters who are close to the community. According to political participation theory, one effective strategy to increase political participation is elections that involve women and families so that people's voices can be meaningful in building democracy.

This paper aims to introduce readers to the changes and transformations of gender political equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their impact on the legal and institutional framework. A brief survey of major changes and transformation will demonstrate to what extent the position of women’s political participation and representation has improved in the past two decades? That is why the goal of this paper is to examine and analyze the participation and election of women to the executive and legislative bodies at the state, entity and cantonal level in the last two parliamentary and presidential elections held in 2014 and 2018 respectively. Then, the comparative analysis of the elections will clearly show statistical gaps between male and female electoral lists nominees and obtained mandates among male and female nominees and mandates across parliamentary, state and entities levels. Thus, the research will analyze gender quotas based on electoral law and obtained mandates among female candidates. Such analysis will demonstrate to what extent female candidates have moved from mere participation in the elections to the level of political representation by obtaining mandates across different governance levels. For testing the main research objectives on the degree of women’s political participation and representation, the researchers used the data from the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (www. izbori.ba). Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to present the data regarding women’s political participation and representation in General Elections 2014 and 2018.

Zimbabwe's post-independence election processes have been predominantly male-dominated, with women relegated to the periphery as electorates or party ‘cheerleaders’. Since the Beijing conference in 1995, Zimbabwe enacted several laws to overcome bottlenecks that have impeded women's participation in political processes, with the 2013 Constitution serving as the ultimate template for promoting women's engagement in mainstream electoral systems. Nonetheless, women’s participation as candidates or leaders in electoral processes has declined significantly since the 2013 Constitution. The study brings to the fore, findings to respond to 3 fundamental research questions which are: 1) what is the interlinkage between economic, cultural, social, and physical spaces with the electoral processes, 2) what are the complex social inclusion factors in political spaces, and 3) what recommendations can be proffered to enhance inclusion of women in electoral processes. In answering the questions, the research draws on content analysis of reports from the Project on Preventing Violence Against Women in Politics Project (VAWP/E), face-to-face interviews, and focus group discussions to offer insights and investigate the opportunities provided by various legal frameworks to increase women's engagement in electoral and political processes in Zimbabwe. The article further systematically explores other important factors and elements that impede and contribute to women's full participation in electoral processes as candidates. This study contends that the availability of excellent legal provisions does not result in increased women's participation in electoral politics as candidates unless there is political will. The study further asserts that participation in social, cultural, economic, and physical spaces interacts in a complex manner and influences women's participation in Zimbabwe's electoral political processes as candidates. Because of the country's political polarisation and the impunity of perpetrators of political violence, the political arena is believed to be intimidating and discouraging, thus not ripe, for women to participate as candidates. The study recommends a wholesome approach to dismantling the complex interlinkages between cultural, social, economic, and physical spaces as obstacles affecting the inclusion of women in electoral processes as candidates. Thus, the study further recommends that existing legal instruments should be complemented by progressively dismantling the social, cultural, and physical forces prohibiting women's participation as leaders in electoral processes. Specific provisions in the Electoral Act may further be used to penalise failure by political parties to field a reasonable number of women as candidates in elections.

This study examines the impact of technology on political participation in Nigeria. Methodologically, data were collected through secondary sources available on electronic political processes across African countries. The data gathered were analysed to understand nexus between election technological innovation and its impacts on political participation in Nigeria. The study found out that election technology had made it easier for citizens to participate politically and also technology has improved transparency in elections and democratic processes in Nigeria. It also found out that there is positive perception towards using technology for increasing political participation amongst Nigerian citizens when compared to traditional methods such as paper ballots or manual counting systems. It further highlights how widespread adoption of digital technologies has enabled more people from been disenfranchised in Nigeria to actively participate in electoral processes thereby contributing towards social change and opening up possibilities for greater involvement by citizens in effective decision making at all levels. The paper suggested that technology has had a significant impact on the electoral process, and the implications of these technological changes should not be underestimated.