Dissatisfied citizens : an asset or a burden in democratic functioning of a society?

• Past research has shown that, whereas the majority of people in democracies support the idea of democracy as a form of governance, some citizens are dissatisfied with the democratic institutions and the way democracy performs. In this paper, we examined democratic characteristics of dissatisfied youths to understand the role they play in the democratic functioning of a society. Based on youth’s dissatisfaction with the performance of political institutions and the principles of democracy, we identified four groups distinct of citizens. Then, we compared these groups in terms of their political engagement, knowledge and interest, values and attitudes, and law breaking attitudes. The results showed that youths with high levels of principle- and performance-driven dissatisfaction were less likely to participate in politics, less knowledgeable and interested in political issues, and more likely to break the laws, even if people got hurt compared to other three groups. In contrast, youths who were only dissatisfied with the performance of democratic institutions were more likely to participate in politics, and have higher humanistic values and tolerance towards immigrants. By examining distinct groups of dissatisfied citizens and their democratic characteristics, the current study contributes to the general debate on the role of dissatisfied citizens in democracies.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science (hsv//eng)

Keyword

dissatisfied citizen

critical citizen

performance-driven dissatisfaction

principledriven dissatisfaction

democracy

attitudes to law-breaking

Political Science

Statskunskap

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

ovr (subject category)