EDUCATION AS A CAUSE FOR PARTICIPATION IN POLITICS: A CASE STUDY IN BULGARIA

Abstract

Political participation is a very important factor for liberal democracy. All forms of political participation in government contribute to democracy. In addition, the effects of participation are considered to be substantive in a very different way, for instance by providing an individual with direct usefulness and by contributing to personal contentment and satisfaction with life in general. A priori, from a subject subordinate to the state in all pre-liberal regimes, the individual in contemporary democracies becomes an unavoidable factor in political processes. Given that, the analysis in this article is based on the characteristics of the Bulgarian democratic model. The main purpose of the study is the current challenges to civic engagement and the importance of education for the political participation of Bulgarian citizens to be analyzed. The applied methodology is a combination of a theoretical approach to political participation and analysis of the data gathered from various quantitative surveys (European Social Survey, other representative and non-representative sociological surveys). The results of these surveys reveal the important role of education for the participation of Bulgarians in politics. The influence of education on the alleged interest in politics, the trust in institutions, the participation in political elections and on other forms of civic engagement has been studied. The need for political socialization and the motivation of young Bulgarians to participate more actively in the political sphere is emphasized. Keywords: Education, Political Participation, Political Socialization, Bulgaria