31 January 2014
MYPLACE
____________________________________
____________________________________
MYPLACE (Memory, Youth, Political Legacy And Civic Engagement)
Grant agreement no: FP7-266831
WP6: Mapping Activism
Deliverable 6.1: 14 local (case study) level reports mapping and typologising youth activism
based on outputs from WP4 and WP5
Estonia
(Tartumaa and Ida-Virumaa)
Editors
Version
Date
Work Package
Deliverable
Dissemination level
WP Leaders
Deliverable Date
Document history
Version Date
V1.0
1
Alphabetic order
Airi-Alina Allaste, Reelika Pirk, Marti Taru1
V1.0
31st January 2014
WP6: Mapping Activism (Typologies)
D6.1: 14 local (case study) level reports mapping and typologising
youth activism based on outputs from WP4 and WP5
PU: Public
Airi-Alina Allaste (TLU); Mariona Ferrer-Fons (UPF)
31st January 2014
Comments
Modified by
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31 January 2014
Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
2. TYPOLOGISING YOUTH ACTIVISM WITH MYPLACE SURVEY
2.1. EMPIRICAL STRATEGY
2.2. TYPOLOGY OF YOUTH ACTIVISM
2.2.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW
2.2.2 DIMENSION OF PARTICIPATION
2.2.3 TYPE OF PARTICIPANTS
2.2.4. SUMMARY
3. UNDERSTANDING TYPES OF YOUNG PARTICIPANTS
3.1. PROCESS OF SELECTION OF YOUNG PARTICIPANTS’ VOICES
3.2. EXAMPLES OF THE TYPES OF YOUTH ACTIVISM
3.2.1. INACTIVES
3.2.2 ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVISTS
3.2.3. VOTING SPECIALISTS
3.2.4 COMPLETE ACTIVISTS
3.2.5 FORMAL ACTIVISTS
3.3. CONSISTENCY BETWEEN TYPES OF ACTIVISM BETWEEN WP4 AND WP5 DATA
4. CONCLUSIONS
3
3
3
5
5
9
10
23
25
25
25
24
27
31
34
38
40
41
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1.
Introduction
The aim of this report is to map and describe youth activism by constructing typologies of youth activism at a
local level. The typology has been developed through triangulation of WP4 quantitative survey data and
WP5 qualitative interview data. Cluster analysis of the WP4 survey data in Estonia generated a typology
consisting of five clusters: inactives, organisational activists, voting specialists, complete activists, and formal
activists. This was followed by choosing one respondent from each location who matched the profile of each
cluster in terms of profile of activism and socio-demographic data. For qualitative examples we used the
material from the 60 in-depth WP5 interviews which were conducted with selected WP4 survey respondents
who agreed to be interviewed. This typology of activism will enable a comparison between the two field
sites and to identify differences regarding wider trends as well as individual motivation.
2.
Typologising youth activism with the MYPLACE survey
In this section, the goal is to present an overview of youth activism using the survey data from WP4 and a
selection of WP5 respondents.
2. 1. Empirical strategy
Analysis of the Estonian data followed the recommended analysis techniques and used the syntax file
prepared by the WP6 coordinators. The following variables were used for generating the typology of youth
activism: Q8, Q10, Q16, Q18. The variables are described below.
Voting in national elections
Q8 Some people do not vote for one reason or another. Did you vote in the last [country] national election?
Yes
No
Don’t know
Refuse
1
2
-1
-2
Q10 Could you tell me which of the following reasons best explain why you did not vote?
I was not eligible
I would have liked to have voted but was unable to on the day
I decided not to vote because in this election there was no party that aligned with my views
For me, voting or not voting is equally pointless
I did not vote to show my dissatisfaction with politicians and parties
Don’t know
Refuse
1
2
3
4
5
-1
-2
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Following instructions, a compound variable was developed out of Q8 and Q10, using the syntax produced
by the WP6 coordinators.
Q16 There are different ways of being politically active. During the last 12 months, how often have you done
the following?
Q16_1
Q16_2
Q16_3
Q16_4
Q16_5
Q16_6
Q16_7
Q16_8
Q16_9
Q16_10
Q16_11
Q16_12
Q16_13
Q16_14
Q16_15
Q16_16
Q16_17
Q16_18
Q16_19
Q16_20
Volunteered in an election campaign
Contacted a politician or local councillor (e-mail /
phone / SMS / letter / fax etc)
Attended a public meeting dealing with political or
social issues
Signed a petition
Collected signatures
Given a political speech
Distributed leaflets with a political content
Boycotted or bought products for political, ethical
or environmental reasons
Written political messages or graffiti on walls
Worn a badge with a political message
Participated in a demonstration
Participated in a strike
Donated money to support the work of a political
group or organisation
Written an article, e.g. in a student newspaper,
organisation journal, the internet or a blog
Written or forwarded a letter/an email with
political content
Participated in a violent political event
Occupied buildings or blocked streets / railways
Participated in a ‘flashmob’ (a spontaneous
demonstration organised by social media)
Uploaded political material to the internet (including
social networking sites such as Youtube / Twitter /
Facebook)
Voted in student union elections
Never
Once
Twice
1
2
3
Three times
or more
4
1
2
3
1
2
1
1
1
1
DK
Ref
-1
-2
4
-1
-2
3
4
-1
-2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
-1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-2
-2
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
-1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-2
-2
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
-1
-1
-2
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
Following the instructions, all variables Q16_1 to Q16_20 were recoded into dummy variables using a coding
scheme so that 1= participation was reported, 0 = participation was not reported.
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Q18 I will read you a list of organisations. Please tell me, for each organisation, if you are a member. Also, please
tell me if - during the last 12 months - you have participated in an activity arranged by this organisation or if you
have done voluntary work for this organisation. (Interviewer instructions: Multiple responses possible. Ask
line by line.)
Q18_1
Q18_2
Q18_3
Q18_4
Q18_5
Q18_6
Q18_7
Q18_8
Q18_9
Q18_10
Q18_11
Q18_12
Q18_13
Q18_14
Q18_15
Q18_16
A political party / youth section of a political
party
Religious or church organisation / religious
youth organisation
Trade Union / youth organisation of a Trade
Union
National or local Youth Parliament
Environmental organisation
Animal welfare group
Peace organisation
Human rights organisation
National cultural organisation (for instance
diaspora or ethnic minority organisation)
Women’s organisation
Anti-globalisation organisation or movement
Sports club
A student union
Local
category
(for
instance
a
neighbourhood association)
Militarised youth organisation
Other (WRITE IN)
Member
Participated in
activity
Done
voluntary
work
None
apply
DK
Ref
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
-1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-2
-2
-2
1
2
3
4
-1
-2
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
-1
-1
-2
-2
Two variables, the last variable q18_16 and Q18_12 Sports club, were not used for developing indices or in
the clustering exercise. Following the instructions, all other variables were recoded as dummy variables
using a coding scheme so that 1 = participation was reported, 0 = participation was not reported.
2.2. Typology of youth activism
2.2.1. General overview
In general, participation in the listed forms was reported by a higher percentage of respondents in Tartumaa
than in Ida-Virumaa (see Table 2.1).
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Table 2.1 Participation in political activities
Political action (%)
Volunteered in an election campaign
Contacted a politician
Attended a public meeting
Signed a petition
Collected signatures
Given a political speech
Distributed leaflets with a political content
Boycotted certain products
Written political messages or graffiti on walls
Worn a badge with a political message
Participated in a demonstration
Participated in a strike
Donated money
Written an article
Written or forwarded a letter/an email
Participated in a violent political event
Occupied buildings or blocked streets
Participated in a flashmob
Uploaded political material to the internet
Voted in student union elections
Tartumaa
Ida-Virumaa
X2
Df.
Sig.
3%
11%
18%
20%
6%
5%
5%
16%
2%
12%
17%
6%
5%
12%
11%
0%
0%
8%
10%
29%
10%
8%
8%
8%
5%
2%
4%
4%
2%
4%
6%
5%
2%
6%
4%
1%
0%
3%
2%
14%
25,361
2,787
27,816
39,740
0,394
6,491
0,097
48,412
0,324
29,856
34,873
0,442
10,278
9,578
22,703
2,124
1,059
12,081
32,911
44,619
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0,000
0,104
0,000
0,000
0,541
0,013
0,784
0,000
0,675
0,000
0,000
0,524
0,001
0,002
0,000
0,173
0,368
0,000
0,000
0,000
Differences were statistically significant in 13 out of 20 variables:
Volunteered in an election campaign
Attended a public meeting
Signed a petition
Given a political speech
Boycotted certain products
Worn a badge with a political message
Participated in a demonstration
Donated money
Written an article
Written or forwarded a letter/an email
Participated in a flashmob
Uploaded political material to the internet
Voted in student union elections
Tartumaa
3%
18%
20%
5%
16%
12%
17%
5%
12%
11%
8%
10%
29%
Ida-Virumaa
10%
8%
8%
2%
4%
4%
6%
2%
6%
4%
3%
2%
14%
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The variables where the difference was not statistically significant and which therefore should be considered
as performed by a similar percentage of respondents in both locations, were: contacted a politician;
collected signatures; distributed leaflets with political content; written political messages or graffiti on walls;
participated in a strike; participated in a violent political event; occupied buildings or blocked streets.
18 out of the 20 variables had a higher value in Tartumaa, 2 in Ida-Virumaa. The participation forms that
were reported by a higher percentage of respondents in Ida-Virumaa were: volunteered in an election
campaign (10 per cent from Ida-Virumaa and three per cent Tartumaa); and participated in a violent political
event (one per cent from Ida-Virumaa and zero per cent in Tartumaa). In the case of participation in a
violent political event, the difference was not statistically significant though. The five most popular
participation modes in each location were:
Tartumaa
Voted in student union elections 29%
Signed petition 20%
Attended public meeting 18%
Participated in a demonstration 17%
Boycotted certain products 16%
Ida-Virumaa
Voted in student union elections 14%
Volunteered in an election campaign 10%
Contacted a politician 8%
Attended a public meeting 8%
Signed a petition 8%
Participation forms constituting the list of most popular activities indicate a somewhat different
participation profile in Ida-Virumaa than in Tartumaa. Young people in Ida-Virumaa tend to prefer more
institutionalised participation linked to the political system, while in Tartumaa a higher percentage of young
people prefer non-institutionalised forms of participation.
Violence clearly was the least popular form of political action in both locations.
Participation in organisations
Participation in organisations was reported by a higher percentage of respondents in Tartumaa than in IdaVirumaa.
Table 2.2 Participation in organisations
Participation in organisations
(%)
A political party
Religious or church organisation
Trade Union
National or local Youth Parliament
Environmental organisation
Animal welfare group
Peace organisation
Tartumaa
Ida-Virumaa
X2
Df. Sig.
9%
9%
6%
7%
10%
11%
2%
5%
5%
5%
4%
4%
2%
1%
6,555
5,993
0,534
4,163
14,697
44,435
2,466
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0,011
0,015
0,472
0,045
0,000
0,000
0,177
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Human rights organisation
Immigrants organisation
Women’s organisation
Anti-globalisation organisation or movement
Sports club
A student union
Neighbourhood association
Militarised youth organisation
2%
3%
2%
1%
53%
27%
9%
12%
1%
1%
1%
0%
37%
17%
1%
2%
3,427
5,65
4,656
4,413
31,377
19,608
37,638
49,638
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0,094
0,023
0,048
0,070
0,000
0,000
0,000
0,000
The most popular organisations were sports clubs. While it can be argued that participation in a sports club
or a in a sports group integrates people, it is still more probable that it tends to be a leisure activity,
motivated primarily by people’s preferences for spending their free time and perhaps by their selfrealisation goals rather than by social issues. The second most popular organisations were students’ unions.
Evidently, this is linked to the respondents’ activity status – many of the respondents are enrolled in an
educational institution and participation in a students’ union is a status-specific way of expressing and
realising their social and political activism. Participation in a political party, a religious or church organisation,
an environmental organisation, or an animal welfare group were placed in third, fourth, fifth and sixth
places. Political parties and their youth sections clearly have a social issue orientation and a political role in
society. They provide good opportunities, therefore, for young people to express their opinions and make an
impact. Political parties appear to be important channels for upward social mobility too. However, not all
young people have a positive image of parties; instead, they hold a negative image of political parties and
politics as a whole. The popularity of the church is somewhat unexpected; youth in Estonia is not very
religious and the role of the church is modest at best. The church is not a very popular provider of youth
work or leisure opportunities either. Environmental and animal welfare groups are based on particular
issues and participants are evidently motivated by the wish to resolve certain problems or achieve certain
goals.
Reported participation in organisations was higher in Tartumaa, without exception. The difference was
statistically significant in the case of 10 organisation types out of the 15 (see the table below).
A political party
Religious or church organisation
National or local Youth Parliament
Environmental organisation
Animal welfare group
Immigrants organisation
Sports club
A student union
Neighbourhood association
Militarised youth organisation
Tartumaa
9%
9%
7%
10%
11%
3%
53%
27%
9%
12%
Ida-Virumaa
5%
5%
4%
4%
2%
1%
37%
17%
1%
2%
In five types of organisations (see the bullet list below), the difference was not statistically significant and
participation in these organisation types should be considered roughly similar in both sites.

Trade Unions,
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



National or local Youth Parliaments,
Peace organisations,
Human rights organisations,
Anti-globalisation organisations or movements.
Voting
Turnout in national elections was higher in Tartumaa, where 47 per cent of respondents reported voting; in
Ida-Virumaa, 27 per cent reported voting.
The main reason for not voting in both locations was ineligibility to vote – more than 60 per cent ticked this
response option. There was a notable difference across sites: in Tartumaa 61 per cent said they were not
eligible; in Ida-Virumaa 69 per cent ticked this response option. Not voting because the respondent was
unable to do so on the election day or considering voting pointless was reported by slightly more than a
tenth of the cohort; there were no differences across research sites.
The other notable difference was in ticking the response option stating that there was no party that aligned
with the respondent’s view: in Tartumaa 9 per cent chose this response; in Ida-Virumaa 3 per cent.
Not voting to show dissatisfaction with politicians and parties was the least frequently ticked response
option.
Voted in last national elections
Did not vote in last national elections
Tartumaa
Ida-Virumaa
X2
Df. Sig.
47%
53%
27%
72%
48.581
1
0,000
69%
12%
16.480
4
0,002
Why did not vote?
1 Was not eligible
61%
2 I would have liked to have voted but was unable14%
to on the day
3 I decided not to vote because in this election9%
there was no party that aligned with my views
4 For me, voting or not voting is equally pointless 12%
5 I did not vote to show my dissatisfaction with5%
politicians and parties
3%
12%
4%
2.2.2. Dimension of participation
Based on the variables described above, eight dichotomous indices of participation were computed, plus
one index of voting behaviour. The indices of participation in political activities include formal political
participation, non-institutional actions and legal protests, expressive activities, political consumption and
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non-legal activities. Indices of participation in organisations include representative organisations, issuemovement organisations and non-political organisations (see Annex 1 for a detailed description of indices).
Indices of participation
Table 2.3. Dimensions of participation
Participation (%)
Tartu
maa Ida-Virumaa
X2
Df. Sig.
Type of participation activities
Formal political participation
Protest / non-institutionalised actions
Expressive activities
Non-legal protest
Political consumption
38%
36%
35%
2%
16%
24%
17%
15%
3%
4%
28.040
55.239
67.534
0.186
48.412
1
1
1
1
1
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.722
0.000
Type of organisations
Non-political organisation
Political representation organisation
Social movement / issue-oriented org
Voting
Abstention
No right to vote
Voted
18%
39%
23%
21%
32%
47%
7%
22%
7%
22%
50%
28%
33.201
44.212
61.224
52.979
1
1
1
2
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
Eight out of the nine indices showed that a higher percentage of respondents reported participation in
Tartumaa and the differences were statistically significant too. The differences were great – in the case of six
indices, participation was reported by at least a twice as high percentage in Tartumaa. Political consumption
was reported by a four times higher percentage of respondents and participation in issue-oriented
organisation by more than a three times higher percentage.
The only non-legal protest was reported by a higher percentage of respondents in Ida-Virumaa, but the
difference was only one percentage point and statistically not significant.
2.2.3.Types of participants
The typology of participants is constructed from the nine indices of participation and activism, using twostep cluster analysis available in the statistical data analysis package SPSS. SPSS syntax prepared by the
coordinators was used for the purpose of developing the typology.
The number of clusters was based on the expert judgement of researchers. The solution containing five
clusters appeared most appropriate and allowed a substantively meaningful interpretation. In addition to
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the five cluster solution, solutions containing nine, eight, seven and six clusters were considered too but
were left aside because of exceedingly high complexity. The five groups are labelled:
 Inactives
 Organisational activists
 Voting specialists
 Complete activists
 Formal activists
Table 2.4. Clustered groups of participants
Inactives
Organisational activists
Voting specialists
Complete activists
Formal activists
Total combined
Excluded cases
Total
N
% combined % total
230
301
237
272
152
1 192
59
1 251
19.3%
25.3%
19.9%
22.9%
12.8%
100%
18.4%
24.1%
18.9%
21.7%
12.2%
95.3%
4.7%
100.0%
The groups are of a rather similar size. The only exception is the group labelled ‘Formal activists’, which is
somewhat less numerous than others.
The characteristics of participation in each type and their proportions are presented in detail in Table 2.5.
Below, the types are briefly described. The types are characterised on a group level, not on an individual
level. Although there is a link between individual and group characteristics, they do not correspond directly.
Inactives
The group of inactives was characterised by a minimal reported involvement in the activities and
organisations. The only reported participation was involvement in a non-legal protest, reported by 2
members of the cluster, which is three times lower than the average for the cohort.
All members of the cluster reported that they were not eligible to vote; the percentage reporting no right to
vote was 2.5 times higher than the cohort average.
Organisational activists
A relatively high percentage of members in this group reported involvement in the three types of
organisations: 59 per cent in a political organisation, 29 per cent in a non-political organisation, 32 per cent
in an issue-oriented organisation. The percentages reporting organisational affiliation were respectively 1.9,
2.3 and 2.2 times higher than in the whole cohort. A characteristic feature of this group was a low reported
involvement in expressive activities and in formal political participation. Participation in expressive activities
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was reported by one person (0.3 per cent; 100 times less than in the whole cohort), and participation in
formal political instances by 36 respondents, which was 2.5 times below the cohort average. Participation in
protest, political consumption and non-legal protests as well as abstention rate, voting and not having the
right to vote were roughly equal to the cohort averages.
Voting specialists / voting protesters.
Voting specialists reported only two modes: voting and abstaining from voting. Both were above the cohort
average: the abstention rate was 2.3 times and voting turnout 1.3 times higher than the cohort average.
Involvement in any other form of participation was not reported. In addition, none of the members of the
group reported ineligibility to vote.
Complete activists
The most characteristic feature of this group was an above average percentage of reporting participation in
all of the participation forms. The difference was smaller in the case of some participation forms and bigger
in the case of other forms, but reported participation was above cohort average in any case. The difference
was minimal in voting – voting was reported by a 1.4 times higher percentage than in the whole cohort.
Participation in political organisations was reported by a 1.7 times higher percentage, participation in nonpolitical organisations by a 1.8 times higher percentage, participation in an issue-oriented organisation by a
2 times higher percentage, formal political participation by a 2.2 times higher percentage, protest / noninstitutionalised actions by a 2.7 times higher percentage, political consumption by a 3 times higher
percentage, non-legal protest by a 3.1 times higher percentage and expressive activities by a 4 times higher
percentage than in the cohort on average. In contrast, the abstention rate and the percentage of people
ineligible to vote were below cohort average (0.7 and 0.8 respectively). Expressive activities, non-legal
protest, political consumption and protest / non-institutionalised actions were most popular among
members of this group. Participation in activities and organisations linked to the political system – voting
and participation in political organisations – was reported by relatively few, although the reported
participation was above the cohort average too.
Formal activists
Formal activists were characterised by a 3.2 times above average formal participation as well as a 1.5 times
higher voting turnout. Participation in political representative organisations was equal to cohort average. A
characteristic of this group was that participation in issue-based organisations, in non-political organisations
and non-legal protests was reported by none. Political consumption, expressive activities and protest were
reported by less than the cohort average (the ratios were 0.8, 0.7 and 0.7 respectively). Also, the abstention
rate and the share of people without the right to vote were below average (0.7 and 0.7 respectively).
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Table 2.5. Characteristics of the groups
Inactives (N 230; 19,3%)
1 Voting
% group
0.0%
100.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
ratio
group/average
0.00
2.46
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.0%
6.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.9%
0.00
0.00
0.33
N
177
1
% variable
48.1%
0.3%
% group
58.8%
0.3%
ratio
group/average
1.90
0.01
86
58.9%
97
36
93
73
117
111
27
7
54.2%
9.7%
29.7%
28.9%
24.2%
24.4%
22.1%
22.6%
28.6%
32.2%
12.0%
30.9%
24.3%
38.9%
36.9%
9.0%
2.3%
2.33
2.15
0.39
1.18
1.14
0.96
0.97
0.88
0.89
N
117
0
120
0
% variable
46.2%
0.0%
26.4%
0.0%
% group
49.4%
0.0%
50.6%
0.0%
ratio
group/average
2.33
0.00
1.33
0.00
N
0
230
0
0
0
0
0
0
Abstention
No right to vote
Voted
2 Formal political participation
3 Political representation organisation
4 Protest / non-institutionalised actions
5 Expressive activities
6 Social movement / issue-oriented org
7 Non-political organisation (excluding
0
sports org)
0
8 Political consumption
9 Non-legal protest
2
% variable
0.0%
47.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
Sig
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Organisational activists (N 301; 25.3%)
1 Political representation organisation
2 Expressive activities
3 Non-political organisation (excluding
sports org)
4 Social movement / issue-oriented org
5 Formal political participation
6 Protest / non-institutionalised actions
7 Voting
Abstention
No right to vote
Voted
8 Political consumption
9 Non-legal protest
Sig
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Voting specialists (N 237; 19.9%)
1 Voting
Abstention
No right to vote
Voted
2 Formal political participation
Sig
*
*
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3 Political representation organisation
4 Protest / non-institutionalised actions
5 Expressive activities
6 Social movement / issue-oriented org
7 Non-political organisation (excluding
sports org)
8 Political consumption
9 Non-legal protest
0
0
0
0
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
0
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.00
0.00
0.00
N
268
192
182
82
142
82
22
% variable
90.2%
61.3%
49.2%
67.2%
38.6%
45.8%
71%
% group
98.5%
70.6%
66.9%
30.1%
52.2%
30.1%
8.1%
ratio
group/average
3.95
2.69
2.16
2.95
1.69
2.01
3.11
60
41.1%
40
92
140
15.8%
19.%
30.8%
22.1%
14.6%
33.8%
51.5%
1.80
0.69
0.83
1.35
N
152
0
% variable
41.1%
0.0%
% group
100.0%
0.0%
ratio
group/average
3.22
0.00
0
0.0%
23
45
84
28
0
28
13
49
9.1%
9.3%
18.5%
8.9%
0.0%
9.4%
10.7%
13.3%
0.0%
15.1%
29.6%
55.3%
18.4%
0.0%
18.4%
8.6%
32.2%
0.00
0.71
0.73
1.45
0.70
0.00
0.74
0.84
1.04
*
*
*
*
*
*
Complete activists (N 272; 22.8 %)
1 Expressive activities
2 Protest / non-institutionalised actions
3 Formal political participation
4 Political consumption
5 Political representation organisation
6 Social movement / issue-oriented org
7 Non-legal protest
8 Non-political organisation (excluding
sports org)
9 Voting
Abstention
No right to vote
Voted
Sig
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Formal activists (N 152; 12.8%)
1 Formal political participation
2 Social movement / issue-oriented org
3 Non-political organisation (excluding
sports org)
4 Voting
Abstention
No right to vote
Voted
5 Protest / non-institutionalised actions
6 Non-legal protest
7 Expressive activities
8 Political consumption
9 Political representation organisation
Sig
*
*
*
*
Participation patterns were different in Tartumaa and Ida-Virumaa, and the difference was statistically
significant. Consistently with earlier findings, Tartumaa was characterised by a higher level of activism: there
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was a markedly lower percentage of inactives and voting specialists (7 per cent vs 32 per cent and 14 per
cent vs 26 per cent respectively) and a higher percentage of complete activists and organisational activists
(33 per cent vs 13 per cent and 33 per cent vs 17 per cent respectively). The share of formal activists is
roughly similar in both locations (14 per cent vs 12 per cent). The table also shows that not only is there
more activism in Tartumaa, but the participation pattern is also somewhat different.
Table 2. 6. Participation groups per location
Young people in the participation groups
(%)
Groups of participants
Inactives
Organisational activists
Voting specialists
Complete activists
Formal activists
Tartumaa
Ida-Virumaa Total
6.9%
33.3%
13.6%
32.5%
13.6%
31.6%
17.2%
26.1%
13.2%
11.9%
X2
Df.
197.4 4
Sig.
0.000
19.3%
25.3%
19.9%
22.8%
12.8%
In Tartumaa, a higher percentage of organisational activists reported participation in issue-organisations and
having voted; a lower percentage reported no right to vote. In Ida-Virumaa, a higher percentage of
complete activists reported formal participation and participation in representative organisations; a lower
percentage reported political consumerism and having voted. In Tartumaa, a higher percentage of formal
activists reported involvement in protest activities. In Ida-Virumaa, a higher percentage reported
involvement in representative organisations.
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Table 2. 7. Characteristics of the groups by location
Participation actions done (%)
Inactives
Organisational
activists
Voting
specialists
Complete
activists
Formal
activists
Total
13%
28%
1%
0%
11%
30%
62%
40%
26%
30%
43%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
44%
0%
56%
62%
71%
98%
7%
34%
24%
47%
31%
13%
32%
55%
100%
23%
22%
0%
12%
0%
26%
0%
12%
30%
58%
38%
36%
35%
2%
16%
18%
39%
23%
21%
31%
48%
11%
37%
0%
7%
5%
25%
53%
17%
20%
55%
24%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
52%
0%
48%
80%
70%
100%
10%
22%
18%
65%
29%
18%
39%
43%
100%
13%
14%
0%
4%
0%
39%
0%
18%
30%
52%
24%
17%
15%
3%
4%
7%
22%
7%
22%
50%
29%
Tartumaa
Dimensions of participation
Formal political participation
Protest / non-institutionalised actions
Expressive activities
Non-legal protest
Political consumption
Non-political organisation (excluding sports org)
Political representation organisation
Social movement / issue-oriented org
Voting
Abstention
Not right to vote
Voted
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
100%
0%
Ida-Virumaa
Dimensions of participation
Formal political participation
Protest / non-institutionalised actions
Expressive activities
Non-legal protest
Political consumption
Non-political organisation (excluding sports org)
Political representation organisation
Social movement / issue-oriented org
Voting
Abstention
Not right to vote
Voted
0%
0%
0%
1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
100%
0%
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Table 2.8. Socio-demographic correlates of the participation groups per location
Participation groups (ROW %)
Inactives
Organisational
activists
Voting
specialists
Complete
activists
Formal activists
33.3%
13.6%
32.5%
13.6%
2
X
df.
Sig.
Tartumaa
Tartumaa Whole Sample (594)
6.9%
Q54 Gender
1 male
2 female
8%
6%
33%
33%
13%
14%
32%
33%
13%
14%
1.708
4
0.789
Age 4 groups
.00 -20 yo
1.00 20-22
2.00 22-24
3.00 24+
18%
5%
0%
1%
33%
27%
36%
39%
2%
15%
23%
19%
34%
37%
28%
30%
14%
17%
12%
11%
88.187
12
0.000
15%
33%
11%
30%
12%
75.806
12
0.000
2%
28%
13%
39%
18%
2%
54%
28%
15%
2%
0%
33%
14%
34%
18%
1%
41%
24%
27%
7%
68.168
16
0.000
q60r Respondent's
education
.00 primary or less
1.00 general secondary
2.00
secondary+vocational
education
3.00 tertiary
q61r Activity status
last 7 days
1.00 fulltime work
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2.00 part-time work
3.00 in education
4.00 unemployed
5.00 inactive
2%
10%
4%
0%
30%
30%
42%
39%
19%
7%
25%
32%
32%
36%
29%
21%
17%
17%
0%
7%
CLASS3 Social class
.00 low
1.00 low-medium
2.00 high-medium
3.00 high
8%
5%
4%
10%
38%
27%
35%
27%
17%
11%
15%
7%
29%
38%
29%
39%
9%
19%
16%
17%
26.751
12
0.008
q57r Ethnicity
7%
1.00 Estonian
2.00 Russian, Ukrainian,
6%
Belorussian
33%
14%
33%
14%
4.41
4
0.353
56%
11%
17%
11%
7%
33%
14%
33%
14%
15,537
8
0.050
0%
100%
67%
0%
0%
0%
33%
0%
0%
0%
36%
15%
33%
15%
33.977
8
0.000
citizenship
Citizenship
1.00 Estonian
2.00 Russian or other
3.00 no citizenship
Family
structure
Family structure and
2%
household
1
few
cohabiting,
composition
separately from parents
2 living with parents,
10%
few cohabiting
3 married with children,
0%
separately from parents
6.9%
30%
11%
34%
14%
45%
32%
16%
8%
33.3%
13.6%
32.5%
13.6%
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Participation groups (ROW %)
Inactives
Organisational
activists
Voting
specialists
Complete
activists
Formal activists
17.2%
26.1%
13.2%
11.9%
X2
gl.
Sig.
Ida-Virumaa
Ida-Virumaa Whole Sample (598)
31.6%
Q54 Gender
1 male
2 female
35%
24%
15%
22%
26%
27%
14%
12%
10%
16%
12.638
4
0.013
Age 4 groups
.00 -20 yo
1.00 20-22
2.00 22-24
3.00 24+
47%
24%
28%
31%
15%
21%
18%
15%
6%
25%
37%
29%
15%
19%
9%
12%
16%
10%
8%
14%
50.692
12
0.000
42%
17%
19%
12%
9%
42,547
12
0.000
24%
14%
28%
19%
15%
31%
21%
29%
8%
11%
14%
11%
35%
23%
17%
32%
16%
31%
12%
10%
28.18
16
0.030
24%
33%
37%
22%
18%
18%
15%
24%
33%
16%
26%
37%
12%
17%
13%
6%
12%
17%
8%
12%
q60r Respondent's
education
.00 primary or less
1.00 general secondary
2.00
secondary+vocational
education
3.00 tertiary
q61r Activity status
last 7 days
1.00 fulltime work
2.00 part-time work
3.00 in education
4.00 unemployed
5.00 inactive
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CLASS3 Social class
.00 low
1.00 low-medium
2.00 high-medium
3.00 high
38%
24%
20%
12%
18%
15%
14%
19%
24%
31%
39%
24%
12%
13%
11%
24%
9%
17%
16%
21%
39,446
12
0.000
q57r Ethnicity
13%
1.00 Estonian
2.00 Russian, Ukrainian,
33%
Belorussian
13%
28%
28%
19%
18.799
4
0.001
18%
26%
12%
11%
11%
14%
40%
17%
17%
213.304
8
0.000
59%
63%
21%
21%
7%
4%
9%
6%
4%
5%
17%
36%
8%
8%
8.838
8
0.356
citizenship
Citizenship
1.00 Estonian
2.00 Russian or other
3.00 no citizenship
Family
structure
Family structure and
31%
household
1
few
cohabiting,
composition
separately from parents
2 living with parents,
31%
few cohabiting
3 married with children,
26%
separately from parents
17%
25%
15%
12%
21%
34%
7%
12%
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Tartumaa
As the table demonstrates, in Tartumaa gender was statistically not significantly related to
cluster membership. Regarding age - in the youngest age group, the below 20 year olds, a
percentage above the cohort average was represented in the group of inactives and below
average in the group of voting specialists. In the age group of 20-22 year olds, less than an
average share belonged to the group of organisational activists, but an above average
percentage fell in the groups of complete activists and formal activists. In the group of 22-24
year olds, the group of voting specialists was above average and the group of formal
activists was below average. Those over 24 years had the highest percentage in the group
of organisational activists, average percentage in the groups of voting specialists and
complete activists, and low percentage in the group of formal activists.
Young people with primary education had above average representation in the group of
inactives. Young people with general secondary education were somewhat less represented
in the category of inactives. In the group of respondents with vocational education, a below
average percentage was in the categories of inactives, complete activists and formal
activists, but above average in the categories of organisational activists and voting
specialists. Young people with tertiary education were completely missing from the
category of inactives, but more than average were members of the category of formal
activists.
Regarding the activity status - respondents working full-time were virtually missing from the
category of inactives and there was a below average percentage of them in the categories of
complete activists and formal activists, but there were above average percentages in the
categories of organisational activists and voting specialists. Respondents working part-time
were practically from the category of inactives. Respondents enrolled in educational
institutions were more represented in the category of inactives and notably
underrepresented in the category of voting specialists. Unemployed respondents were
overrepresented in the category of organisational activists and voting specialists, but
somewhat less represented in the category of complete activists and missing from the
category of formal activists. Interestingly, those inactive in the labour market and not
enrolled in education (inactives) were missing from the category of politically inactive
people. They were notably overrepresented in the category of voting specialists and
somewhat more represented in the group of organisational activists. They were less
represented in the categories of complete activists and formal activists.
In general, there were no big and systematic differences and deviations from the sample
average despite the fact the chi-square statistic was statistically significant.
The category of married with children, living separately from parents, was more
represented in the groups of organisational activists and voting specialists, completely
missing from the group of inactives and less represented in the categories of complete
activists and formal activists.
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Ethnicity and citizenship status were not statistically significantly associated with the cluster
membership variable.
Ida-Virumaa
In Ida-Virumaa, there was a smaller percentage of women in the group of inactives but a
higher percentage in the group of organisational activists and formal activists.
The youngest age group, below 20 year olds, were overrepresented in the group of inactives
but less represented in the group of voting specialists. 20-22 year olds were
underrepresented in the group of inactives but somewhat more represented in the group of
complete activists. 22-24 year olds were clearly more represented in the group of voting
specialists and less represented in the group of complete activists.
Among full-time employed respondents, an above average percentage of the respondents
were members of the group of voting specialists. Among part-time employed respondents, a
below average percentage belonged to the group of inactives and above average to the
group of voting specialists. In the group enrolled in education, a less than average
percentage belonged to the group of voting specialists and a more than average percentage
to the groups of complete activists and formal activists. Among unemployed respondents,
an above average percentage was in the group of inactives. Among inactives, a less than
average percentage was in the group of politically inactives as well as in the group of
complete activists. An above average percentage belonged to the groups of organisational
activists and voting specialists.
A relatively high percentage of respondents scoring low on this variable were members of
the group of inactives. In the two medium groups, a less than average proportion belonged
to the group of inactives and a relatively high percentage to the group of voting specialists
and formal activists. Only a small percentage of respondents scoring high on this variable
were in the group of inactives and a high percentage in the groups of complete and formal
activists.
Among Estonian citizens in Ida-Virumaa, only a small percentage belonged to the groups of
inactives and organisational activists and an above average percentage belonged to the
other three groups. Among Russian citizens and respondents with no citizenship, the
picture was exactly the opposite.
Statistically family structure and household composition were not significantly associated
with cluster membership.
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2.2.4. Summary
Based on questions Q8, Q10, Q16 and Q18, indices of participation were computed in
accordance with guidelines prepared by WP6 leaders. Cluster analysis was conducted using
guidelines and SPSS syntax produced by WP6 coordinators. Several cluster analysis solutions
were examined and the one with five clusters was selected; the number of clusters was
determined using the researchers’ expert judgement. The five clusters are:
Inactives
Organisational activists
Voting specialists
Complete activists
Formal activists
N
230
301
237
272
152
Percentage
19.3%
25.3%
19.9%
22.9%
12.8%
Inactives
The group of inactives was characterised by practically no involvement in activities and
organisations. All members of the cluster reported that they were not eligible to vote. The
group is more represented in Ida-Virumaa, it tends to be male and young, with primary
education, unemployed (in Ida-Virumaa) or enrolled in education (in Tartumaa), with low
social class background in Ida-Virumaa, with no citizenship or with Russian citizenship in IdaVirumaa, and living with parents in Tartumaa.
Organisational activists
A characteristic feature of the group was participation in all kinds of organisations: in
political organisations, non-political organisations, as well as in issue-oriented organisations.
Only a few individuals in this group were involved in expressive activities and in formal
political participation. Participation in all other forms was roughly equal to cohort averages.
In Tartumaa, organisational activists tended to participate in issue-organisations and they
also tended to have voted in the last national elections. The group is more represented in
Tartumaa. It tends to be older in Tartumaa, with vocational education and inactive in IdaVirumaa but inactive, unemployed or fulltime working in Tartumaa, and with Russian
background in Tartumaa.
Voting specialists / voting protesters
The main characteristic of the group was linked to voting only: ‘voting specialists’ reported
being involved only in voting or abstaining from voting and both activities were above
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sample average. They were not involved in any other form of participation and none of the
members were ineligible to vote. The group was more represented in Ida-Virumaa, it tended
to be older (mostly in the age group 22-24 year olds), with vocational education in Tartumaa
but with tertiary education in Ida-Virumaa, working or inactive but not enrolled in
education, holding Estonian citizenship in Ida-Virumaa, married with children in Tartumaa.
Complete activists
The most characteristic feature of this group was the highest level of political activism:
notably, an above average proportion reported involvement in all activities. Expressive
activities, non-legal protest, political consumption and protest / non-institutionalised
actions were the most popular activities. Participation in activities and organisations linked
to the political system – voting and participation in a political organisation – was relatively
low, although participation in these activities was above average too. It follows that the
abstention rate and not having the right to vote were below cohort average. In Ida-Virumaa,
formal participation and participation in representative organisations were more popular,
while political consumerism and voting were less popular. The group was more represented
in Tartumaa, tended to be slightly younger (below 22), tended to hold general secondary or
tertiary education and relatively few had acquired vocational education, relatively many of
them were enrolled in education, with high social class background in Ida-Virumaa, with
Estonian background in terms of ethnic identity and citizenship, and relatively few were
married with children in Tartumaa.
Formal activists
The most notable characteristic of the group was above average formal participation as well
as above average turnout in the last national elections. Participation in political
representative organisations was equal to the average. No one in this group was involved in
issue-based and in non-political organisations, and no one had taken part in a non-legal
protest event. Political consumption, expressive activities and protest were somewhat
below average. Also, the abstention rate and the share of people without the right to vote
were below average. In Tartumaa, a higher percentage of formal activists reported
involvement in protest activities. In Ida-Virumaa, a higher percentage reported involvement
in representative organisations.
This is the only group that is roughly equally represented in both sites. Formal activists
tended to be slightly younger, with general secondary or tertiary education (and only a few
had vocational education), enrolled in education and/or working part-time (and relatively
few unemployed or inactive in Tartumaa), with a slightly higher social class background,
with Estonian background in terms of ethnic identity and citizenship.
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3. Understanding types of young participants
3.1. Process of selection of young participants’ voices
Qualitative analysis is based on individual interviews of those who not only participated in
the survey but also agreed to provide a follow-up, in-depth interview. In Estonia, we were
unable to match the respondents who participated in the survey and were interviewed for
WP5, and we have made our selection on the basis of the content of the WP5 interviews.
Keeping in mind the profiles of activism along with the socio- demographic characteristics of
each cluster, we selected respondents with profiles that matched the characteristics of the
groups in the most sufficient way.
Consequently, we selected one respondent per region, who fitted well with the five clusters
produced from the quantitative analysis. As also reflected in quantitative data, the level and
patterns of activism are rather different in the two locations. It was much more complicated
to find a ‘complete activist’ and an ‘organisational activist’ among Ida-Virumaa respondents,
and there were no respondents who matched the profile of ‘formal activists’, so in the case
of that type only one example from Tartumaa is included in the qualitative report.
3. 2. Examples of the types of youth activism
3.2.1. Inactives
Silvia2 in Tartumaa
Silvia is a 19 year old female, studying hotel service in a vocational education centre in
Tartumaa. During her studies, she lives with her grandmother. Silvia´s father lives separately
from her mother and younger brother, and they seem not to be seeing each other often.
She likes to read novels and fantasy literature and to hang out with her friends in her free
time.
Silvia seems relatively apathetic towards political issues and socially relevant discussion in
society. Although she considers it important to know about topical issues, this is driven
more by a desire to make a good impression on others than to the relevance of knowing and
being informed about politics and social matters. Thus, politics is not a topic she discusses
with her friends or family members. Yet, she claims to follow the news occasionally in order
to keep herself up to date (in her opinion, her family members are more interested in it and
follow the news regularly); however, at the same time she admits that often people around
her discuss issues she has never heard of.
2
All names are pseudonyms.
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Silvia has a very narrow understanding of politics; she sees it as primarily related to parties
and politicians. She also perceives politics as ´difficult and bothersome´, which seems to be
the main reason for her apathy. Silvia tends to be pessimistic and sceptical towards parties
and politicians, she believes that the parties’ election promises are ´pink bubbles´ and finds
that the parliament members’ high salaries are unfair towards the rest of the society. She
has no knowledge about parties and politicians (except E. Savisaar and A. Ansip, who were
her first associations with ´politics´, and who are leaders of the two major parties in Estonia,
respectively, the Estonian Centre Party and the Reform Party). Moreover, she has no
understanding about the parties’ ideologies, stands or their positioning on the left- and
right-wing and liberal-conservative scale.
As an example of an inactive young person, Silvia has no experiences in political activism:
she has not partaken in demonstrations or protests (she did not know that such an event
occurred in Tartumaa only a few months before the interview took place); she does not
belong to or partake in any organisation’s activities; she does not wear any political
symbols; she is neither a politically motivated consumer, nor has she signed petitions on
political issues, except on one occasion when her friend forwarded a petition that was
against cruelty towards animals. At the time of the interview, Silvia did not have any voting
experience, yet she claimed that she would participate in the upcoming elections, as she
simply ´wants to see with own eyes, how this thing is done´. However, she had no idea for
whom she would vote.
Olga in Ida-Virumaa
Olga is an 18 year old female and a 12th grader at one of the high schools in Ida-Virumaa.
She lives with her stepfather and younger brother and sister, since her mother recently
passed away. She likes to draw and is engaged in sports.
Olga is quite apathetic towards political issues and socially relevant discussion in society.
She is not familiar with the latest topical issues in society, but she claims that if these issues
would concern her personally, she would be more interested in them. She is also not used
to discussing political or social matters with her friends or family members, but perceives
her stepfather to be relatively curious about politics and history. Olga perceived economic
inequality and ethnic tensions between Estonians and (Estonian-) Russians as the most
influential ones in current society.
Olga perceives politics as related to parties and politicians: ‘like it’s said, those so-called
important men, who sit there […] well there in the Ministry of Defence, all these Presidents
there, somehow they all are connected [with politics].’ Although, she is not precisely
familiar with parties or politicians, she does recognise some names if she is prompted by the
interviewer. She also has no knowledge about the parties’ ideologies, stands or their
positioning on the left-right-wing or liberal-conservative scale. She indicates that
´democracy´ is a word she has heard, but has no idea what it stands for. In general, she
seems quite distant when it comes to social and political matters and the management of
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society in general, ´I have always had this question […] well why do they [politicians] say all
the time that they don’t have money [in state funds] when they have a printing machine
that prints money?´
Regarding political activism, Olga represents an inactive young person who has no
experience in political or social activism and tends to have no interest in it either. During the
last elections, she was ineligible to vote and regarding the upcoming local elections she is
quite hesitant about her participation, since she sees it as ‘pointless […] sure, I can also not
vote, if the basis for electing officials is who is useful for whom, votes are bought and people
say “vote for them, he’s a good person”, it’s pure nepotism. But me, I don’t like know these
people.’ She implies that the political system is a corrupt instance in which regular people
(without personal contacts) and especially young ones have no influence and opportunities
to participate in the decision-making process:
INT: So, you think regular people have no leverage?
RES: Maybe the people in the parliament, you know, they have friends and
acquaintances and these acquaintances have friends, so perhaps you can
influence things like that. I don’t know, I’m a regular person, it’s not like I can
walk into the parliament and say ‘hey, change this, I don’t like that, change that
as well.’ They’ll just tell me to keep walking (laughter).
However, she is also unfamiliar with the election system, for example, whom residents in
Estonia can and cannot elect, ‘Well, whom I should elect? You don’t elect the president
there´. She implies that most probably she will trust her father’s opinion as she herself has
no knowledge about politics and politicians, by saying that ‘I really don’t know who is who
and what these people are like. What if they just come and start changing things around for
the worse, how am I supposed to know that?’ This quote implies that even though she is
apathetic, disinterested and has little faith in the effectiveness of political elections, she still
has a sense of responsibility in political matters and wants to make her voting decision in an
informed manner.
3.2.2. Organisational activists
Vello in Tartumaa
Vello is a 23 year old male, studying political science at a university. Although at the time of
the interview he was on academic leave and concentrating more on ´self-education´, as he
put it. He claimed to have lost interest in everything, so he took a year off to try and reevaluate his life and goals. He was living at home with his mother, stepfather and younger
brother. His mother works as an assistant in a notary office, and his father, who lives
separately, is a manager in the field of construction.
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Vello seems to be very modest and with a liberal mind-set. He sees the state as a constantly
changing and developing construct, so he does not consider national holidays as something
important enough to celebrate. He sees museums as outdated because the necessity for
them has been replaced by the Internet, which provides more sophisticated and quicker
knowledge about everything. He is also strongly in favour of personal freedoms, such as the
freedom of speech, freedom of belonging, freedom of religion, etc., and during the
interview he constantly and strongly speaks in favour of pluralism in opinions, in parties and
in favour of democracy, ‘Often I don’t agree with such people who well, well directly or
indirectly refer to Schmidt. Karl Schmidt, he was a person who was in favour of replacing
democracy with some kind of a body of wise men.’
´Politics’ and ‘political’ are for him wide concepts that concern everything in society and that
deal with ´managing the society and the distribution of resources´. He also emphasises that
for most people, politics is a power struggle between parties, which he resents and
distances himself from. He seems to be significantly interested in history, in society, and in
politics. He keeps himself informed and often discusses different political topics with friends
and family members.
Vello has many different experiences in socio-political activism. For example, he recently
participated in the movement ´Stop Deceitful Politics´ and participated in the Peoples´
Assemble Think Tanks. He has also partaken in some demonstrations (in favour of Tibet and
during high school times against his teacher). Vello has many different experiences in
various organisations and unions. He has been an active member in one religious
movement, more specifically in the Estonian Satanist Congregation. Although he claims not
to consider himself a Satanist anymore, he still wears a specific necklace that he finds
important because it ‘Marks my capability to be an individual in the middle of this situation
that wants to force me to conform.’ He has also participated in youth centres and youth
organisations, where he has developed his social and organisational skills.
Moreover, Vello has many connections with formal, organisational political activism. He has
been a member of one political party´s local youth section for five years, which he joined
out of interest towards the ideology. He recalls, ‘I stepped in [the office] and said that I am
interested in liberal philosophy and asked for related literature.’ He has also been a member
of the Reform Party for three years, during which time he led one parliament member’s
outdoor election campaign. At the time of the interview, he had resigned from both of these
memberships. He claims that the reason for his resignation was the ruling party´s funding
scandal in 2012 and especially the way in which the party managed the scandal. He had
been in close contact with the politician who brought the party´s funding issues into the
public eye and who eventually was expelled from the party. Vello claims that this expulsion
showed how the party deals with its opposition, and such action is ‘absolutely against the
liberal doctrine,’ which he cherishes.
During the interview, he still seems to be very frustrated over it and even though he has
been an active voter in favour of the Reform Party, he now claims to be uncertain about the
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next elections, ‘Every time I think about it, some part of me starts violently protesting, so I
don’t dare give a final answer even about whether I will go or not.’ Nevertheless, he thinks
that people’s voting decisions should be wisely considered, ‘People should bear in mind [...]
this, like, rhetoric that comes out from different people’s mouths [politicians] in order to
evaluate their competence in political positions. There isn’t much he can say [politicians
during election campaigns] but you have to analyse it [not trust someone blindly].’
Despite the fact that Vello represents an organisational activist who also has party political
experience, he is relatively sceptical about the youth sections’ political significance, role and
influence in society. He suggests that politically minded young people cannot participate in
politics, as these specific organisations don’t possess any actual power. In his opinion, youth
sections in Estonia are unable to participate in discussions. According to him, ‘Youth sections
in Estonia are some kind of other construct than in Lithuania, for example, where really
Mayor discusses with youth sections, like, youth related political issues. In Estonia, this
doesn’t exist or if it does, then it’s like done on a higher level.’ Some organisations Vello
perceives as rather negative, for example, one youth organisation because he ‘had to fulfil
other peoples desires,’ and a political party because he ‘joined filled with ideals and desire
to change the world, but came back more bitter than ever before.’
Nevertheless, in general Vello appreciates all his experiences in different organisations and
movements and emphasises that ‘Predominantly, the emotions have been positive, because
these organisations have made me who I am today.’
Georg in Ida-Virumaa
Georg is a 16 year old student, who currently studies in a secondary school and plans to go
to a university later. He is an active person who is seriously involved in sports, basketball,
participating in different competitions. He prefers activites through official channels and has
been involved in a youth centre, which has opened up different oppurtunities for
participation, travelling and communication:
INT: This youth centre, you’re like a member of it?
RES: Basically, I was … but this year, I don’t go there quite as often as before.
Actually, I haven’t been there for a long time. Last year, however, I participated
actively in many events – those related to Russia, and various trips.
He has also been active in participating in events organised by the school or the city council
for cultural exchange and in programmes that organise youth camps.
There was an event at my school, the ninth, but it was also like through the city
council, it was international… it was not called a festival, but… we travelled there
on behalf of the school, lived in St. Petersburg, we… but we participated in
events on behalf of the school… There different like demonstrated their country
– each demonstrated their country and there were several countries and like
everybody presented their like culture or so… and there were several such
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programmes and they visited us in the summer from St. Petersburg. Like a
volunteer camp…
He has a rather conservative understanding of politics, which he first associates with the
institutions and the people responsible. ‘Well, if I think about it … something to do with
ministers… some problems, some affairs, they decide something, they do not decide
something… like a lot of associations – both good and bad.’ He claims not to be interested
in parties and politics at the moment, but does not exclude the possibility that he could
enter politics later in his life. ‘To join a party, I think… for me a party, it’s… but perhaps, if
this will be very important for me, if they will like… directly correspond to my interests and
views, this is possible as well. I will join, if I should develop a great interest in politics.’
He does not believe much in grassroots activism and particularly in Internet activism, which
he considers useless for social aims and potentially dangerous for the participant. He
believes that ’footprints’ in social media can have a negative influence on the future and
narrow down both social and job oppurtunities.
I think that this like does not solve anything much. I think I’d rather express my
views directly, without writing something down somewhere, perhaps it will even
be distorted somehow afterwards… this will not do me much good at all… and
so, comments are generally something that I like try not to write, it’s… always
later on, if someone feels the need and perhaps reads the comments, he needs
not like this – the employer or someone… and it like accumulates for you later
on
Georg does not like that the communities of ethnic Estonians and Russian speakers are
somehow separate and suspects that some misunderstandings are created by the lack of
communication. As he says about his town, ‘we have very few Estonians, it seems to me,
and they… perhaps they have developed some kind of their own opinion on Russians, and
because of this they do not come to live here quite often.’ On the other hand, he believes
that the situation in Estonia is relatively better than in many other countries since there are
not so many immigrants in Estonia from different countries. He is also rather optimistic
about future prospects for relations between the ethnic groups:
Well, it seems to me that in a few years… well, the Russians who have stayed
here, they will realise that they’re like living on the land of Estonians, they’ve
had the opportunity to leave, but they did not want this, therefore, they had
some kind of aims in staying here, and it seems to me that they /…/ are trying to
co-operate and they like take into account their own problems and the problems
of the Estonians – what they want, what others want… but do not also forget
that the country still is, basically the Estonians’ who live here. Well, only if the
politicians themselves do not forget to take into account the opinion of Russians,
of whom there is a great number in Estonia.
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3.2.3. Voting specialists
Rael in Tartumaa
Rael is a 24 year old young mother. She is also a university student enrolled in a Master’s
program on physical therapy; however, at the time of interview she was on academic leave
and at home with her child. She lives independently with a partner. She likes to read, knit
and go to the cinema when she has free time.
Rael is informed about topical political issues in society and thinks that currently the most
influential ones are the upcoming elections and people’s economic wellbeing, although she
sees her family as economically secure due to her relatively wealthy parents’ support. She
also predicts that the gay community will soon start to ‘raise its head’ and claim partnership
rights (she has friends in this community). Rael tends to discuss different political topics with
her parents and friends quite often and seems to be quite comfortable doing it also during
the interview. She seems to be comfortable in using the left- and right-wing scale and
roughly knows the core differences between the parties, yet she confuses the ideologies
and parties when the liberal and conservative scale is brought into the discussion.
She highlights joining the EU and the eurozone as important events from recent history but
sees the concurrent influence as two-sided. On the one hand, she appreciates the freedom
that one now has in travelling and working within the European Union, on the other she
sees that people’s living conditions have fallen, because prices have risen and people
predominantly blame the EU for this, ‘Well, on the street you often hear ‘Oh, now we’ve
got the European Union and boy, does it suck, the standard of living has gone down so
much, people can’t even buy food anymore.’ Regarding history, she also thinks that
Estonians tend to be ´stuck in the past´ and emphasise negative events during the USSR era
too much, which she suggests Estonians should ´let go´:
…deportation is such an important event, you know, it should be remembered,
but often people like victimise themselves too much. You know, you get so stuck
in the past that you completely refuse to look forward, you keep talking about
the same thing, though so much time has passed […] some things should just be
let go already.
Rael has quite a narrow understanding of politics; she sees it as primarily related to parties
and their power struggle. She also sees herself as having ´very little interest in politics´ and
claims to be keeping herself away from this topic as much as possible. Nevertheless, voting
in elections is an activity that she describes as ‘the duty of an Estonian citizen,’ and she
seems to be very keen on it:
To me, you know, it’s like a matter of honour to be able to vote, I’m like a
patriot. To me, if you’re an Estonian then you go and vote, right, and you don’t
moan later on about ‘Ohh, why are things like they are now,’ you’ve gone and
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elected these people and if you didn’t then it’s your own fault that you didn’t.
I’m proud to go and vote. And it like ... feels like a privilege that you can elect
somebody, in that sense, it is like a good feeling that you can speak up about
things, so to say.
As a voting specialist, Rael has consistently voted in every election after becoming eligible
and has (or claims not to have) any other experiences in political activism. Her nonparticipation in other politically motivated activities (e.g. demonstration, petitions, etc.)
tends to be based on the assumption that every kind of participation has to be knowledgebased and deliberated. As she describes it, ‘I feel like maybe I’m not in these things enough,
you know, not enough to go and protest and stuff, I’m not heated enough, in that sense that
I can’t really say why I’m here right now or what I am doing, you know.’
Voting in elections is a family tradition for her. Both of her parents are regular voters and
continue to this day to go to the polling station together with the whole family. Afterwards,
they discuss and argue about personal decisions, ‘Sure we discuss, among friends and
generally with the bigger family also. It isn´t a secret for us who votes for whom. If you can
justify your choice then no one says anything against it.’ However, broadly speaking the
party preferences among family members have coincided.
Her party preference has changed from the Reform Party to Social Democrats, and at the
time of the interview she was hesitant about whom to vote for in the upcoming elections.
Today she considers herself as more left-wing-to-centre and values personal
liberty/freedoms. She also represents a young person who sees that a lot in one’s life
outcomes depends on oneself, but the ones who are really in need should be supported on
the national level. Although she is a voting specialist in our category, on some level she is
also disappointed in politics and politicians.
My last choice was made on the basis of, um, you know, everyone else seemed
even less likable, the Reform Party and the Centre Party, um, they’ve like really
lost their trustworthiness, and, um, the Social Democrats they seemed like the
most reasonable party, you know. They’re still kind of liberal, you know, and
they, um, try to make the situation better for families with kids. Well, I’m not
saying that I believe their promises, of course, most of what they say is bunk, you
know, they just want to get votes, right, but they did have pretty reasonable
goals the last time around.
While she recalled her very first voting experience, she acknowledged that the decision at
that time was not thoroughly deliberated, as she was a ‘young person who became the
victim of an election campaign.’ She explains:
I actually realised that it was my mistake that I hadn´t delved into who these
people are or like, let’s say that I didn´t delve that there are more parties who
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maybe are with the same views but just haven´t promoted themselves so much
that I just thought that well you see, Reform Party´s ads are here, it seems to be
a cool party, well seems like a powerful party […] in my opinion this choice
wasn´t a very judicious choice
Today, Rael constantly emphasises the importance of deliberated and knowledge-based
activities, including voting decisions. Although she claims to have little interest in politics,
she still makes an effort and tries to familiarise herself with the parties’ stands prior to
elections.
Alek in Ida-Virumaa
Alek is a 24 year old young man from Ida-Virumaa. At the time of the interview, he was
considering moving to Tallinn for work. Currently, he did not have any hobbies or other
interests, or as he put it, ‘I don’t have the time or interest’ to do anything.
Alek seems to be informed about recent political scandal(s) on the national level and topical
issues on the local level. He tends to discuss certain political topics with his friends but
emphasises that people ‘Have different understandings on politics’ and the current ruling
party´s political scandals are not interesting enough for them. Towards the ruling Reform
Party, Alek seems to feel antipathy on some level and claims not to vote for them.
Alek has a narrow understanding of politics, which he sees as the parliament and politicians.
He tends to have quite negative attitudes towards the latter. In his perception, politicians
are selfish and don’t actually care for, nor listen to, people. He also finds that power ruins
people, so he doesn’t see himself in politics, ‘If you become a politician yourself, the power
corrupts you. Your opinion changes everything, I mean, if you get into power, you’ll start
lining your pockets with other people’s money.’
Regarding political engagement, Alek represents the voting specialist, which means that his
only experience in politics is related to voting. He feels strong sympathy towards the current
Minister of Economic Affairs and Communication and believes that this politician would
encourage Estonia’s economic development, ‘He wanted to do a lot of good for our country
a long time ago already, but the Parliament didn’t let him. The country doesn’t give him
enough money.’ He is certain in his voting preference and consistently votes for the Pro
Patria and Res Publica Union. However, the reason for this sympathy tends to be quite
superficial and not related to an ideological preference, ‘There’s a real reason why I support
them – they don’t have any former communists […] recently they’ve had a lot of known
athletes in their ranks, young people join up with them because they’re the only party
without scandals.’
Although Alek is a voting specialist, his knowledge about politics and political systems is
quite narrow: ‘I really haven’t paid much attention to who’s right, who’s left. I know about
the party I voted for and who I support […] nah, I really don’t care [whether a party is left or
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right wing]. I just like this party more, they seem to be geared more towards the youth.’
Alek has no other experiences in political activism, although he is in favour of people’s
participation in decision-making processes and insists that people expressing their opinion
on streets is a part of democracy:
INT: For example some sort of protest movements or collecting signatures?
RES: I think that this is what democracy is. Let the people voice their opinions.
We need the right to have an opinion. If we really don’t like something, we
should go and express our opinions. […] not, like, you know, burying it deep
inside and being afraid of expressing ourselves. This is why we have democracy!
Nevertheless, he also sees that such actions are not worth undertaking for every small thing,
which is the reason why he hasn´t participated yet. Although Alek hasn’t partaken in any
such activities to date, he shows a willingness to protest and demonstrate on the streets
and even to participate in illegal or violent actions (as the last recourse) if the country
should be under threat, ‘I’d definitely go, if I found out that Estonia is basically being sold
to, say, China or England. I wouldn’t like that. Our country is our country and we need to
have pride in it.’
3.2.4. Complete activists
Andrus in Tartumaa
Andrus is a 20 year old male originally from the capital city of Tallinn, but who came to
Tartumaa for education. At the time of the interview, he was a Bachelor’s student majoring
in journalism – a profession that he highly values due to its socio-critical relevance. He also
plans to acquire a Master’s degree in education at some point in the future. He has finished
studies in an art school and sings in his own metal band. His parents, who work as state
officials, and his 8 year old little sister still live in Tallinn. Andrus sees his future as connected
with Estonia.
Already at the very beginning of the interview, Andrus describes himself by saying, ‘I am an
active citizen in society.’ He constantly looks for new opportunities to participate, to speak
up in society and has a variety of experiences in socio-political activism, so he fits well into
our category as a complete activist.
Andrus leaves a very deliberate impression. He conceives the concepts ´politics and political´
as conflict and refers to a definition according to which politics is solving conflicts with
words. He perceives Estonia as a very democratic and free country where freedom of
speech and freedom of press are highly valued and secured/guaranteed. Andrus is quite
well informed and keeps himself up to date about different social and political matters: he
reads the news, discusses social and political topics with friends and family. However, he
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political matters. He says that ‘they are really strongly influenced by what is written in the
media, there is less of this space where people think for themselves’ a characteristic he
himself distinguishes.
His active participation in society started in high school, when he participated in the
Estonian High School Students’ Union´s activities, and at the time of the interview he was a
member of the University Students’ Union. Andrus tends to strongly disapprove of young
people’s ill-considered membership in political organisations and superficial decisionmaking. Therefore, he had quite negative emotions regarding his high school students’
union, which Andrus perceived to be a politicised organisation, as it serves a recruitment
function for one Estonian party´s youth section.
An organisation that claims to be apolitical [Students’ Union][…] Just specifically
these key people go there [to the Social Democrats’ youth section] to some
positions or start there in some event […] But why it’s pornographic is precisely
because if you are 16 and young, 16 and young may be already intelligent but
often he isn’t. And then they go there simply for the wrong reasons without
understanding what exactly it is that they are doing there or what it brings along
with it, because Estonia is so small and every kind of label makes, well one has to
be careful with every kind of label regarding their future careers […]
Andrus himself is relatively careful with political self-identification. As an active citizen, he
participates in elections and values considered voting decisions, which means that he tends
to familiarise himself with the parties’ programs before elections and finalises the decision
before going to the polling station. Nevertheless, he keeps his voting preferences to himself,
referring to his profession as a journalist (though still a bachelor’s student, he has published
articles already) and the necessity to be ´apolitical´.
Andrus is talkative, enthusiastic and very open-minded and worldly. He values competence
and intelligence and looks for these characteristics in politicians. Although he did not reveal
his voting preferences, he did indicate that he feels a certain sympathy towards the leader
of the Estonian Social Democrats as a person and politician, precisely due to the
abovementioned reasons. Andrus says that ‘Somehow he showed his intellectual
superiority compared to others [...] Mikser did not have papers in front of him, but still he
had the best statistics, research, the best things brought as proof, he answered the quickest
[…] he spoke the most understandably.’
Andrus tends to be careful or even critical of the political parties’ stands and election
promises. He emphasises that some parties’ ideology and standpoints are not very realistic
for Estonia:
Like turning Estonia into the new Sweden, it’s not really realistic, is it […] for one,
as soon as they made the coalition [Social Democrats] they abandoned all their
more radical ideas. Second, it actually is better that they abandon them,
because there’s no chance of really implementing them.
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Currently, Andrus belongs to one civic journalism association, a small association, where he
is an active member. He also belongs to its Board and manages the webpage together with
his somewhat older counterparts. The core aim of the union is to address social matters
mainly on the local level, but also on the national and international levels. He appreciates
his participation experience, although he emphasises the need for effectiveness and real
outcomes from his engagement. He says, ´As a young person, perhaps, I’m a bit anxious
about these things. I try to, like, give to this energy and change, you know, but at the same
time try to tear some of it down [for example, old structures].´
Recently he wrote an opinion article about ´ground-breaking changes in Estonian
society´ during the year 2012. He sees the year as outstanding and significant,
emphasising and valuing citizens’ activation on social and political matters during the
entire year. With this article he stood out and was invited to one of the radio stations
at the end of the year, where he gave an interview on the same topic.
2012 was totally crazy in the sense that everything came so suddenly, you know.
Especially the first part of the year, everything in quick succession, you know,
the strikes. In March, I wrote an article on how to get people to become even a
bit more active […] then suddenly there were strikes and people became really
vocal. It’s not a single thing, but in succession all these discussions, they’ve led to
more activity.
As a complete activist, Andrus has a variety of different experiences in socio-political
activism. Additionally to the abovementioned, he has signed petitions: recently he
supported Charter 12, a public appeal that drew attention to weaknesses in the leadership
of Estonia. He has also participated in demonstrations against higher education reform and
partook in the ACTA demonstration. To some extent, Andrus comments and shares posts
and news with political content on the Internet. Yet, he only distributes, like he says,
‘political absurdities’, that is news, jokes, etc., about political decisions, ideas, happenings,
which are nonsense, and with these he tries to draw attention to shortcomings in politics
and increase public awareness of these issues, for example, political corruption.
As an active and socially concerned young man, Andrus values citizens’ efforts in
participation. As he describes it, ‘Well, the topic itself creates frustration [ACTA-draft act],
but the demonstration creates a positive mood cause it shows that you are not the only one
who cares.’
Semion in Ida-Virumaa
Semion is a 25 year old man with a master’s degree, who is living with his parents in IdaVirumaa. He has Estonian citizenship, but is ethnically Russian and identifies himself as
Russian first. Though, while according to previous studies many Russian speakers in idaMYPLACE: FP7-266831
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Virumaa follow the media from Russia, at the time he claimed to follow most local
(Estonian) media in Russian and he is relatively well-informed about Estonian society.
He finds it difficult to manage his life in Estonia because of a low standard of living, and this
is the main topic on social issues that he constantly discusses with his friends as well. Even
though he has a salary considerably above the Estonian average, he finds it difficult to
establish a family because of material insecurity. Many of his friends have already left
Estonia and he has thought about this option too. He considers emigration one of the major
problems in Estonia today:
Well… this… in my opinion it’s very bad, everybody leaving the country. Of those
I know, friends, everyone is trying to leave, I mean what will happen next, will be
very bad… I think… there are rumours that somewhere in the south of the
country, Koreans or Chinese… someone like that, are illegally entering our
country… I mean they work on our fields, this already suggests that… that they
are beginning to employ cheaper labour…
Besides his atttitudes towards emigration, the quotation above also reflects slightly
unrealistic rumours that seem to be spreading among some parts of the population.
Semion is interested in the social processes in his environment and likes to be involved in
discussions. Answering the question on whether he had participated in Internet actions, he
said, ´Well, I think yes, I have. Indeed. /…/ well, I don’t know, like, I’ve always had the desire
to express my opinion when I saw such things...´ He has also signed a petition ´In support of
education in Russian … it took place through our trade union,´ but on the other hand he
stresses that ´Any rallies or something like that do not interest me at all.´ He is a capable
person who would like to make things better, but he is interested in his local environment
and the people he cares for rather than in abstract ideas or politics. His attitudes are well
exemplified in his answer to the question on whether he would be ready for risky activities
or dangerous acts in order to achieve some political goal, to which he replied, ´Political?
No... for the sake of those close to me, for the sake of my family – yes, I would be prepared
to do crazy things, for the sake of people very close to me.´
His sceptical views about politics are partly based on his bad experiences when he
enthusiastically tried to enter local government and met too many obstacles and false
power games:
INT: Have you ever participated in politics?
RES: Yes, tried it once; tried for local government
INT: Through a party or an election coalition?
RES: Through a party. /…/ I noticed how difficult it was to get in, how dirty
everything was… these false smiles were… I actually tried because it seemed
interesting. I thought, what if I could make it, what if I could change something,
make something better! Then I was told ‘yeah, right’, the people sitting there
have like already arranged everything, you cannot slip through… They have
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money, they have like captured everything, and this is what happened...Let’s say
I grew up in that town, I would like to do something... like the playgrounds, like
something else somehow, somehow they do not try to develop anything in our
town.
Semion could be called a potentially complete activist who has lost his belief in formal
politics and suspects that most people who are in a position where they could make a
difference in society only to use it for their own benfit. That might have a negative impact
on his activities more generally, while he does not see much oppurtunitY for change. On the
other hand, he does not critisise Estonian society in general much and does not stress that
being a Russian speaker in Estonia makes his life more difficult. Rather than emphasising
nationality/language based tensions, he points out other topics, like the disadventaged
position of young people in contemporary society.
3.2.5. Formal activists
Simmo in Tartumaa
Simmo is a 24 year old young man. At the time of the interview, he was studying medicine
at the university and was about to graduate. Simmo´s father and mother work at the
university, so Simmo suggested that one of his future options might be lecturing at the
university like his parents. Nevertheless, he was certain that his future would be in Estonia.
Simmo is a very wise young man, who leaves a relatively reserved impression. He is familiar
with topical political discussions in current society and regularly discusses social and political
topics with friends and family. On social and political matters, he tends to trust experts’ and
specialists’ opinions and values reasoned, well-elaborated standpoints and innovativeness in
politicians. Simmo associates ´politics´ with a decision-making process that includes
expressing an opinion, but emphasises that political decisions are always ‘Biased, in favour
of somebody… there are different interest groups at work there […] political doesn’t
necessarily mean the best decision […] political kind of means, like, put in power, you know,
to like better their position, perhaps not make the best decision for the greater public.’
He claims that the latest political scandals, strikes and economic crises have influenced
people’s well-being and conceives social and economic inequality as the biggest concern for
Estonia. In a way, he seems to be confused in his political values and standpoints. On the
one hand, he is in favour of a ´thin state´ and people’s own civic initiatives, personal efforts
and individualism, ‘I like to make my decision on my own [...] let’s say, I do not think that
this very thin state would be the best, but at the same time […] I don´t like the attitude, that
the state should do everything, I rather support the attitude that man himself should do
something.’ On the other hand, to some extent he disapproves of Estonia´s political
orientation and government under right-wing politics, which, as he sees it, has led to a
situation where ‘Rich people get richer and poor ones become poorer […] it seems to me
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that certainly is a problem.’ So he claims that in politics pure left and right-wing ideologies
are not efficient and will eventually lead society ´into a dead end´.
Regarding political activism, Simmo considers himself a rather passive citizen. Nevertheless,
he has consistently participated in formal political activities like voting in elections, which he
has done every time since becoming eligible. He sees voting as a ´self-evident´ action, in
which he has never doubted. He says, ‘Well, I think that here the most important thing is
what comes with you from your home, because my parents always go [to elections], then it
seems that there is no other way […] and it has always interested me also […]. Simmo claims
to be more left-wing oriented and has mainly voted for ideological reasons and in favour of
Social Democrats. Yet his voting preference has changed over time and he has also voted for
the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union.
Simmo belongs to the medical students’ union, where he claims to be a non-active member.
Nevertheless, he has helped with organisational matters. Although he perceives this kind of
participation as civic rather than political activism, to some extent he sees connections
between the students’ union and politics. For him, the connection between the two lies in
certain activities that the union has organised, such as round tables and a discussion on
socio-politically relevant issues, where also politicians and state representatives
participated.
Simmo claims not to have taken part in other politically motivated civic activities that are
outside formal political structures, for example, he has not participated in protests, signed
petitions against politicians, political decisions, etc. The reason why he has not partaken in
such activities seems to be his lack of faith in the effectiveness of such activities, ‘I don’t
believe in its effectiveness much, like, in this sense, I don’t believe that changes are made
simply by collecting signatures.’ Yet he recalls that if at all, then he might have signed
petitions that are related to local level community life and urban planning, but he would not
and has not if it concerns ´big political games´ like, for example, Charter 12. Simmo is like
Andrus from the complete activist category, in the sense that he values effectiveness and
real outcomes from his participation.
In that organisation, maybe, or with voluntary work in general, you know, what
has started to bother me is that I start seeing that there’s perhaps no point to it,
no outcome that I’d like to see happen and I start feeling sorry for the time I’ve
lost, I start feeling like I could use my time more sensibly… um, I don’t want to
call it wasting time, per se, but you know, perhaps I should have used it for
something else, you know, there’s never enough time and you have to use it
wisely […].
Simmo recognises that Estonia has many problems, but suggests that there is nothing big
enough to require risky or dangerous measures. So he doesn’t see himself engaging in
extremist activities, although he doesn’t rule out the possibility if Estonia’s independence is
under threat.
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Overall, Simmo seems to be satisfied with life in Estonia. He finds that, in general, people in
Estonia have good opportunities and possibilities to achieve and succeed in personal life as
well as to efficiently participate on the political level, if they want it.
I think that it’s good that you can do what you really want to, I mean, if you’re
active enough, then, um, you have choices and can do really big things too. For
example, medical students recently managed to change legislation, or you know,
made the Parliament do it, so that we can now work as doctors assistants […] I
think it’s great that we have this insane freedom, so that, um, if you’ve got an
idea you can see it through, no problem, especially, if you’ve got energy, are
willing to put in work, money can be found, you know.
3.3. Consistency between types of activism, survey data and open
interviews
As mentioned previously, examples from qualitative data have been selected on the basis of
content with the aim to have the best match as well as best example of all types, preferably
from both regions. However, the focus for selection was first on activity, and sociodemographic background has been considered only as far it was possible. Although
inactives in Ida-Virumaa tended to be males, we have selected a female. Organisational
activists follow the trends shown in cluster analyses better – the representative from
Tartumaa is older than the one from Ida-Virumaa. On the other hand, the representative
from Tartumaa has better education than people in this group on average. The voting
specialist from Tartumaa lives with their parents and child as was more represented also in
quantitative type. The voting specialist from Ida-Virumaa is relatively old (24) also as
among quantitative type. From complete activists, the person from Tartumaa was younger
than in Ida-Virumaa, reflecting the trend in quantitative types. Even though the percentage
of organisational and complete activists was considerably higher in Tartumaa than IdaVirumaa and their share was more equal regarding formal activists according to quantitative
data, it was too complicated to find a match for the type among qualitative data. Regarding
concrete activities characteristic to types, especially the types of complete activist and
organisational activist, these were better exemplified in Tartumaa, since they were really
active people. On the other hand, somehow lower activity among specific types describes
the overall trend that distinguishes the locations.
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4. Conclusions
On the basis of this study, the conclusion is that the level of activism is considerably higher
in Tartumaa than in Ida-Virumaa. As is reflected in the quantitative study, according to the
typology the most represented types in Ida-Virumaa are inactives – people who are not
eligible to vote and are not involved in any other activism, and voting specialists/protesters
– people whose only activity is connected to elections. Organisational and complete activists
are much better represented in Tartumaa. Considering also qualitative data and the ‘voices
of young people’ matching certain types, it seems that lower activism is also reflected on
the individual level. For example Semion, who matched best with the type of ‘complete
activist’ in Ida-Virumaa, is not comparable in his level of activities to Andrus, who is the
representative from Tartumaa. Andrus is involved in all kinds of different forms activism,
both in organisations and more grassroots level demonstrations or petitions. Semion has
tried different things, including participating in local government, but on a smaller scale and
mostly in the past. Although Andrus has critical views towards many aspects of society and
mistrust towards politicians, it has not lessened his activism. Semion, on the other hand,
seems to be more influenced by his bad experiences and his disbelief in change also makes
him less active. Also, the organisation activist from Tartumaa is actually far more involved in
different organisations and communities than the representative from Ida-Virumaa, and the
voting specialist from Tartumaa is more knowledgeable about politics and social issues than
the representative from Ida-Virumaa. It could be said that in addition to higher level
activism on the general societal level, when analysing individuals in Ida-Virumaa more
closely, they also seem to be less engaged than Tartumaa youth even if they are relatively
active for their own environment. Young people from Ida-Virumaa tend to be less informed
about different topics, less active in society and more pessimistic about their possible
influence on society, compared to young people from Tartumaa regardless of the different
types.
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ANNEX
Indices of participation in political activities (Q16 battery)
Formal political participation





Q16_1 Volunteered in an election campaign
Q16_2 Contacted a politician or local councillor (e-mail / phone / SMS / letter
/ fax etc)
Q16_6 Given a political speech
Q16_13 Donated money to support the work of a political group or
organisation
Q16_20 Voted in student union elections
Non-institutionalised actions/protest (legal)





Q16_4 Signed a petition
Q16_5 Collected signatures
Q16_11 Participated in a demonstration
Q16_12 Participated in a strike
Q16_18 Participated in a ‘flashmob’ (a spontaneous demonstration organised
by social media)
Expressive activities






Q16_3 Attended a public meeting dealing with political or social issues
Q16_7 Distributed leaflets with a political content
Q16_14 Written an article, e.g. in a student newspaper, organisation journal,
the internet or a blog
Q16_15 Written or forwarded a letter/an email with political content
Q16_19 Uploaded political material to the internet (including social
networking sites such as Youtube / Twitter / Facebook)
Q16_10 Worn a badge with a political message
Political consumption

Q16_8 Boycotted or bought products for political, ethical or environmental
reasons
Non-legal activities


Q16_9 Written political messages or graffiti on walls
Q16_16 Participated in a violent political event
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Q16_17 Occupied buildings or blocked streets / railways
Indices of participation in organisations (Q18_1 to Q18_11, Q18_13-Q18_15)
Representative organisations





Q18_1 A political party / youth section of a political party
Q18_3 Trade Union / youth organisation of a Trade Union
Q18_4 National or local Youth Parliament
Q18_13 A student union
Q18_14 Local category (for instance a neighbourhood association)
Issue-movement organisations







Q18_5 Environmental organisation
Q18_7 Peace organisation
Q18_8 Human rights organisation
Q18_9 National cultural organisation (for instance diaspora or ethnic minority
organisation)
Q18_10 Women’s organisation
Q18_11 Anti-globalisation organisation or movement
Q18_15 Militarised youth organisation
Non-political organisations


Q18_2 Religious or church organisation / religious youth organisation
Q18_6 Animal welfare group
Voting, abstention and no right to vote
A compound variable was developed using variables Q8 and Q10:
Electoralpart = 0 ‘Abstention’ if Q8=2 and Q10 = 2 through 5
Electoralpart = 1 ‘No right to vote’ if Q8 = 2 and Q10 = 1 ‘I was not eligible’
Electoralpart = 2 ‘Voted’ if Q8 = 1
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