Young Greek Cypriots appear uncertain for their future, pessimistic, cynical, and highly disillusioned with traditional politics, according to a study published in the “Contemporary Social Science” Journal.
The study, titled “Investigating the roots of political disengagement of young Greek Cypriots” was conducted jointly by the Laboratory of Psychological Applications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Institute of Communication & Social Research, Frederick University in Nicosia and was published last October. The study attempted to disentangle the issues underlying the marked drop recorded in political engagement of young Greek Cypriots.
According to a today’s press release, contrary to what is observed in other European countries, young Greek Cypriots do not experiment with alternative forms of political action, remain inactive, and although the country`s politicised culture of the past is still reflected in their theoretical discussions about social issues, they express embarrassment and confusion when asked to elaborate on how theory could be transformed into practice.
It is added that they associate politics with corruption and economic interests, they are scornfully disillusioned with the European Union, and they emotionally distance themselves from important changes to come with the possible reunification of Cyprus.
Moreover, the study finds that young Greek Cypriots appear insecure, pessimistic, disoriented, uninspired, and in an urgent need to rediscover passion for ideas which they cannot find any more in traditional politics and forms of political action.
To reveal the dynamic processes through which people debate, disagree or convince each other towards the formation of political attitudes, eight focus-groups were carried out with a total of forty participants, equally distributed according to age and gender, between August 2016 and February 2017.
The research team was headed by professors Bettina Davou and Sotiris Theocharides and scientific associates included Ioanna Christodoulou and Charis Pashias. The research is accessible under http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21582041.2017.1384562?journalCode=rsoc21
