CC BY
31DOI 10.23859/2587-8352-2017-1-3-3 UDC 324 (470)
Andrei Baranov
Doctor of Political and Historical Sciences, Professor, Department of Political Science and Political Management
FSBEI of Higher Education Kuban State University Krasnodar, Russia baranovandrew@mail.ru
Comparative analysis of objectives and trends in the electoral policy of the European Union and the Russian Federation in relation to youth
Abstract. The article reveals peculiarities of goals and trends of the Russian electoral policy in relation to youth in comparison with that of the European Union. The Russian electoral policy is state-centered and conservative and also relies on the state-based principle to protect the youth. It emphasizes the forms of political participation which provide consultative and training functions instead of lobbying political interests. The interactive mechanisms of liaising between the young voters, candidates and electoral commissions are not sufficiently revealed.
Keywords: electoral policy, goals, trends, comparative analysis, youth, Russia, the European Union
Introduction
The relevance of the topic chosen for the article is manifested by the fact that young people having the right to vote constitute a significant segment of the citizens of the Russian Federation. By the beginning of 2015, the Russian youth at the age of 18 to 30 years made up a significant part of the electorate - 27.264.1 people (24.4 % of eligible citizens of the Russian Federation)1. Young people are an important participant in the electoral politics in the Russian Federation, since the succession of gener-
1 The population of the Russian Federation by gender and age as of 1 January 2015, Federal Service of State Statistics. Available at: http://www.gks.ru/wps/wcm/connect/rosstat_ main/rosstat/ru/statistics/publications/catalog/doc_1140095700094 (date of retrieval: June 23, 2016); Information on the total number of voters, participants in the referendum of the Russian Federation as of 1 January 2016. Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. Available at: http://www.cikrf.ru/izbiratel/quantity/ 20160101.html (date of retrieval: 21.05.2016).
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ations is one of the factors of political change. However, the potential resources of youth influencing the results of election campaigns are largely devalued by the poor knowledge of young men and women about Russian politics, low interest in the outcome of the vote and unstable attitudes of electoral behavior. The electoral activity of citizens under the conditions of democracy is both a process of self-organization of politically active individuals and their associations and an object of targeted regulation by influential subjects of politics. These circumstances increase the relevance of the study of the electoral policy of the Russian Federation in relation to youth, the development of recommendations to improve its effectiveness in the context of the world experience.
The purpose of the article is to determine the specifics of the goals and trends of Russia's electoral policy towards young people in comparison with the similar policy of the European Union.
The electoral policy is interpreted as a purposeful, predominantly state influence on the factors, norms and agenda of election campaigns (see the works of G.V. Golo-
2 3
sov , N.V. Grishin ). The electoral policy is aimed at ensuring the legitimate functioning of the political system by replicating the institutions and practices of election, control and succession of power. Such a policy includes, among its goals, the formation of positive motivation of citizens with regards to conventional forms of participation in the political life of society. This goal implies several agreed tasks: to ensure a certain level of voters' knowledge of politics sufficient for conscious participation in the elections; to teach to have a positive attitude towards the political system of the country, its authorities and legislation; to create positive attitudes and skills for the citizens, to participate in the elections, as well as the ability to make an informed political choice of their orientation through voting.
Modern specialists (E. Campbell, F. Converse and others4, J. Colomer5) believe that the trend associated with regulating the norms of electoral activity is always a result of the correlation of forces of competing political subjects, expression of their political interests and strategies. These subjects include legislative authorities that determine the normative rules for the conduct of elections, courts, election commissions, as well as parties and public organizations, media participating in election campaigns and making demands for changing the rules of their conduct. It is possible
2 Golosov G.V. Cracks in the wall. The regime and the opposition during the Russian electoral cycle 2011-12. Pro et Contra. Moscow, 2012, vol. 16, no. 1-2, pp. 94-115.
3 Grishin N.V. State electoral policy: The subject area of the new scientific field. The Caspian Region: Politics, Economy, Culture. Astrakhan, 2014, no. 3 (40), pp. 71-82.
4 Campbell A., Converse Ph.E., Miller W.E., Stokes D.E. The American Voter. N.Y., 1980. 574 p.
5 Handbook of Electoral System Choice. N.Y., 2004. 592 p.
to determine the degree of influence of a 'player' of politics on the development and outcome of electoral competition through applied research (by means of questionnaires and expert surveys, observation, focus groups, interviews) and not based on the legislative norms. Particularly, the difference between political and legal approaches is important when studying the regulation of electoral processes in Russia, where constitutionalism has weak traditions, whereas the political and ideological orientations of citizens are unstable6.
Studies have been created that explain the specificity of youth electoral politics in the world political science. These include the works of D. Buckingham , S. Coleman and C. Rowe8, P. Dahlgren9, R. Kimberlee10, B.D. Loader11, Smith and others12. They focus on the forms of political youth's self-organization, virtualization of political participation in the information revolution, reasons for absenteeism among young people and methods of positive involvement of young people in civic engagement. K.
13
De Backer and M. Jans introduced the term the "triangle of youth participation" . In their view, young people will actively interact with the political system provided the following three conditions are met: they must see the goal of the changes; feel that they can change the situation and to communicate with other people to solve their problems effectively.
Main part
Young people are defined as the socio-demographic group of a society aged 15 to 30 years with social status, positions and functions in the structure of the society, with the resources of political influence that determine their political interests, orientations and attitudes. Young people are heterogeneous, including various social-status, professional, territorial-settlement, age and gender groups. In the political as-
6 Electoral Authoritarianism: The Dynamics of Unfree Competition. Boulder, 2006, pp. 168— 169, 199.
7 Buckingham D. The Making of Citizens: Young People, News and Politics. London; N.Y., 2003. 235 p.
Coleman S., Rowe C. Remixing Citizenship: Democracy and Young People's Use of the Internet. London, 2005. 16 p.
Dahlgren P. (ed.). Young Citizens and New Media: Learning for Democratic Participation. London; N.Y., 2007. 262 p.
10 Kimberlee R. Why Don't British Young People Vote at General Elections? Journal of Youth Studies. Berlin, 2002, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 85-98.
11 Loader B.D. (ed.). Young Citizens in the Digital Age: Political Engagement, Young People and New Media. London, 2007. 218 p.
12 Smith N., Lister R., Middleton S., Cox L. Young People as Real Citizens: Towards an In-clusionary Understanding of Citizenship. Journal of Youth Studies. Berlin, 2005, vol. 8, no. 4, pp.425-443.
13 De Backer K., Jans M. Youth (-work) and Social Participation: Elements for a Practical Theory. Brussels, 2002, pp. 7-9.
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pect, segmentation of young people is also important in terms of the level and nature of education and the degree of religiosity. As young people, who do not take highstatus political positions due to their age and short professional experience, they have high expectations, which can lead to deprivation whilst confrontation with the political reality. The political socialization of youth is not complete yet. The agents of political socialization of young people are diverse depending on their social status, professional, territorial-settlement, age and gender characteristics.
A useful innovation is the use of the term 'political generation'. Per A.V. Selez-neva's definition, it is "a community of people of a certain age who have similar ideas about politics and power formed in the process of primary political socialization under the influence of the historical, political and socio-cultural context of its course ... Political generations belong to a symbolic category and mean a community of contemporaries whose life coincided with a special period of history..."14. The interval for the elimination of political generations (per K. Mannheim) is around 17-25 years15. However, considering the growing dynamics of the political processes, it is useful to single out some political cohorts within a certain generation with a time lag of 4-6 years, which will clearly reveal the conditions for socialization, orientation and setting the age categories of young people. The key feature of the classification of individuals as a political cohort is their involvement in the political activities, the types of personal and group participation in politics, their prevailing orientations and attitudes.
The authors of the British sociological survey conducted in 2013 by the specialists of 'LSE Enterprise Limited' reasonably believe that political awareness and education is the core of the interested participation of young people in politics16. We apply the 'ladder of participation' algorithm, which includes stages according to the criterion of growth in activity and independence of youth participation: from manipulation (for adults) and imitation of activity through volunteer work and organization of youth projects to political self-organization, participation in political discussions and
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decision-making . The main forms of such political participation can be called youth councils, media organized by young people, political actions dedicated to a specific issue and work in youth political organizations. A more detailed classification pre-
14 Selezneva A.V. Socially active youth in Russia: Political values and preferences. Power and Politics: The Institutional Challenges of the 21st Century. Political Science. Yearbook 2012. Moscow, 2012, pp. 381-382.
15 Mannheim K. The Problem of Generations. Mannheim K. Essays on the Sociology of Knowledge. London, 1972, pp. 276-322.
EACEA 2010/03: Youth Participation in Democratic Life. Final Report. February 2013.
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London, 2013, p. 8.
17
Gozdzik-Ormel Z. Have Your Say!: Manual on the Revised European Charter on the
Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life. Strasbourg, 2014, pp. 103-106.
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supposes dividing into the following forms of electoral participation: information retrieval and political education: participation in the modeling of political processes, trainings in educational institutions and youth organizations; participation in debates on youth issues; creation of public opinion of youth through publications of traditional press, radio and television, participation in discussions on online forums, blogs; participation of young people in representative democracy: support of candidates or political parties, voting for them in elections; participation of young people in legislative (representative) bodies; increase of mass participation of young people in these
structures, participation in youth associations, involved non-governmental organiza-
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tions, volunteer activities .
However, in the post-socialist countries, the level of political participation of young people is lower as compared to the territorial range of consolidated democracy, the motives for their participation are specific and relate to the national historical heritage, per F.M. Robertson19. Her opinion is confirmed by the empirical data relating to the countries of the South Caucasus, as cited by T. Turashvili20.
The Russian studies of the electoral activity of young people provide similar material. The questionnaire survey conducted by the ROMIR Center in May 2016 (a sampling of 1,500 people aged 18-60 years) revealed a low level of willingness of Russian young people to participate in politics. Among the 18-24-year-old respondents, freedom as an opportunity to participate in the political life was indicated only 21
by 6 % . If 23 % of respondents of all ages consider voting a formal event, among
the respondents aged 18-24, 31 %o adhere to this opinion. The proportion of inter-
22
viewed young people, who voted in concert with their family members, is 32 % .
Another mass survey was conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation in May 2016 (a sampling of 1,500 people aged 18-30 years, 53 constituent entities of the Federation, where the error did not exceed 3.6 %o). 48 %o of respondents found that Russia was developing in the right direction, whereas 21 % indicated that it was developing the wrong direction. The potential for protest for young people was low: only 14 % recognized the desire to participate in a rally or some other opposition event,
EACEA 2010/03: Youth Participation in Democratic Life. Final Report. February 2013. London, 2013, p. 8.
Robertson F.M. A Study of Youth Political Participation in Poland and Romania. Thesis to be submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science. London, 2009, pp.221-224.
20 Turashvili T. Youth participation in the electoral processes and the role of political elites. Georgian Institute of Politics Report. Tbilisi: Georgian Institute of Politics, 2016. September, pp. 2-6.
21 Feeling of freedom. The ROMIR project Russia. '10 Years Later'. Research Holding ROMIR. Available at: http://romir.ru/studies/804_1467666000/ (date of retrieval: 17.08.2016).
22 Civic duty is less and less fulfilled. Research Holding ROMIR. Available at: http://romir.ru/studies/822_1472677200/ (date of retrieval: 07.09.2016).
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and only 4 % had already participated in such actions . The relatively high desire to participate in the elections and positive assessments of the state course were shown by younger cohorts of respondents (18-24 years old), and with age, absenteeism and opposition were increasing. A significant heterogeneity of political attitudes among young people with a low level of awareness is marked by M.M. Shul'ga in the areas
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of the North-Caucasian Federal District , whereas O.A. Koriakovtseva and O.A.
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Klimov state the same for the Yaroslavl region and A.V. Shumilov investigating Chuvashia26. The political inhomogeneity of the Russian youth is being confirmed, which makes it necessary to differentiate the state policies with regards to various cohorts and strata of young people.
The specificity of electoral policy in relation to youth is connected to the peculiarities of young people participating in the elections. This is marked by the increased role of 'virtual' forms of participation through their activity in social networks, blogs, on Internet forums; preference for 'direct' forms of action at the local level; interactivity of communication, rejection of the dictate of the older generations.
These features are considered, for example, in the 'Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life' (2003) adopted by the Congress of the Council of Europe and the Advisory Council on Youth. One of the many directions of the youth policy was the "policy of access to rights and legisla-
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tion" . It includes the following areas: legal education of youth, support of youth organizations and initiatives, support of youth promotion in their demands to participate in the work of the central government and the local governments. The target audience of this policy to be applied is as follows: youth in general, their internal informal groups, youth organizations and associations, educational institutions, public authorities and local administrations.
23 Political views and protest potential of youth. How do Russians assess actions of the authorities? Public Opinion Foundation. Available at: http://fom.ru/Politika/13045 (date of retrieval: 02.11.2016)
24 Shul'ga M.M. Social and political literacy as the basis of civic position of the student community in the South of Russia. Personality. Society. State. The Problems of Development and Interaction. Collection of Articles, All-Russia scientific technical conference with intern. participation, 7-11 October 2016, Krasnodar, 2016, pp. 309-316.
25 Koriakovtseva O.A., Klimov O.A. Regional view on the problems of civic youth formation. Socio-Political Transformation in Modern Russia: The Search for a Model of Sustainable Development. Moscow, 2015, pp. 425-437.
26 Shumilov A.V. State youth policy and modern youth in Russia: Search for innovative development. Russia in the New Political Environment: Strategy and Methods of Development. Materials All-Russia Scientific Conf. RAPN. Moscow, pp. 318-319.
27 Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life. The Council of Europe. Available at: https://rm.coe.int/1680719974 (date of retrieval: 03.01.2017).
The methods and practices for regulating the electoral participation, according to
the Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Re-
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gional Life, are as follows :
• training young people for participation in politics, including civic educational programs in schools and higher education institutions, training teachers for civic education, exchange of experts' experience;
• informing young people about the policy and their rights, including information and consultation centers to support young people, special measures to help those from deprived and rural areas, without access to the Internet, as well as young people without any qualifications; delivering guaranteed standards of information aimed at supporting young people;
• support for youth participation through access to information and communication technologies;
• promotion of youth participation in mass media through creation of youth-orientated mass media, training of young activists in information activity;
• encouraging youth volunteer movements, including support for creation and financing, as well as in formational support for volunteer centers;
• support for youth projects and initiatives;
• promotion of youth organizations, including application of co-management methods and collaborative decision-making, together with the authorities; participation of the public through consultations;
• encouraging youth participation in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and political parties.
Certain measures are proposed to regulate the electoral participation of young people based on these priorities. As an example, the British Social Attitudes Survey of 2013 suggests institutional measures to overcome the low level of youth participation in the elections: reduction in the voting age from 18 to 16 years, spreading electronic voting, introduction of special representation of young people (quotas) in the European, national, regional and local elections; election of Youth Advisory Councils (YAC). It offers support, information and consultation resources for e-voting and social media campaigns during the elections (interaction of young voters with candidates in social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.), encouraging political debates in the educational system, developing electronic voting technologies and independent public control over campaigning29.
29 Ibidem.
29 EACEA 2010/03: Youth Participation in Democratic Life. Final Report. February 2013. London, 2013, pp. 65-84.
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Let us compare the strategies for managing the electoral activity of young people in the European Union and the Russian Federation. The most recent normative act at the federal level is the 'Youth Electoral Concept' adopted by the Central Election
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Commission of Russian Federation in 2014 . The authors of the concept set a goal -formation of citizenship and patriotism amongst the Russian youth. The main task is to raise interest among young Russians towards the electoral system and the electoral process. The objectives of the concept are as follows: to improve the juridical culture of young voters; to ensure active and informed participation of young people in the election campaigns and referendums; to increase the level of confidence of young citizens in the electoral system, the institution of elections and referendums; to overcome political apathy, taking an active civic position; to inform on the activities of election commissions aimed at the implementation of citizens' rights to elect and to be elected to the government bodies and local administrations. Achieving the goal will contribute to the solution of such priority tasks as "legal education of youth, elimination of legal nihilism among young people; increasing the level of civil responsibility, conscious and responsible social behavior; increasing the level of electoral activity in the youth environment through raising the status of the concept 'duty of a citizen'"31.
The main directions for the implementation of the 'Youth Electoral Concept' of the Russian Federation include the following: education and training of future voters in secondary schools in the form of teaching subjects 'Social Studies', 'Civic Studies', 'The Electoral Law and Electoral Process in the Russian Federation'; arrangement of business role-playing games to test the knowledge of the electoral law and the electoral process; conducting business games, festivals, quizzes, meetings of round-table meetings, excursions and open days in the election commissions, election of chairmen in student councils, etc.; delivering open lectures and workshops, free legal consultations on the issues of electoral law and the relevant process; events during the Young Voter Day; activities in the clubs of young voters, youth councils at election commissions and youth election committees. The activity of youth parliamentary institutions (youth parliaments, youth public chambers) is widely supported. The election commissions assist parties in the preparation of their young candidates, staff
30 Youth Electoral Concept. Approved by Resolution of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation on 12 March 2014, no. 221 / 1429-6. The Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. Available at: www.cikrf.ru/law/decree_of_cec/2014/03/12/pril.doc (date of retrieval: 20.06.2016).
31 Youth Electoral Concept. Approved by Resolution of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation on 12 March 12 2014 No. 221 / 1429-6. The Central Election Commission of Russian Federation. Available at: www.cikrf.ru/law/decree_of_cec/2014/03/12/pril.doc (date of retrieval: 20.06.2016).
of election headquarters, members of election commissions, proxies and authorized representatives. The training of young observers and journalists covering the course
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of election campaigns is also provided . The introduction of Internet resources and technologies foremost serves its training and information purposes.
The commission of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for Youth Affairs and Tourism (established in May 2010) and the State Duma Committee for Youth Affairs, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation are responsible for the development of youth policy in the structure of the legislative branch. At the federal executive level, the Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Russian Federation is responsible for implementing the Strategy. It includes the following departments: The Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Ros-molodezh) and the Department for Youth Affairs and Public Relations. Undoubtedly, a significant part of the tasks in the youth policy is implemented in practice by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. However, in its structure, there is no unit yet that would coordinate the implementation of the youth policy in terms of political and educational programs.
Due to the federal structure of Russia and the variety of conditions, the youth policy in the Russian Federation is implemented at interrelated levels: national (state), macro-regional (federal districts) and regional (constituent entities of the Russian Federation). At the regional level, this activity is carried out by the body authorized to work with youth in the relevant constituent entity of the Russian Federation (the names can vary). A comparative analysis of the websites of the regional authorities of 61 constituent entities of the Russian Federation (2011) showed that the practice of creating ministries dealing with youth policy prevails (31 regions, including 29 combined ministries and two specialized ones); with 22 committees (equally - combined and specialized); 14 departments (mostly combined), four agencies (three specialized
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in youth affairs) . The regulation of regional youth policy is most often (85.5 %) conducted in the form of laws of the relevant constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
One of the problems is a low level of participation of Russian voters in elections, including large numbers of young people. Therefore, the election commissions are required to work with the electorate itself. The Federal Law No. 67-FZ 'On basic warranty of electoral rights and citizens' right to participate in any referendum of citizens of the Russian Federation' dated 12 June 2002 set the goal of informational support for the elections and referendums - to promote "informed choice and expression of will for the citizens, as well as publicity of elections and referendums" (Art.
32 Ibidem.
33 Kibanov A.Ia., Lovcheva M.V., Luk'ianova T.V. Implementation of Youth Policy in the Russian Federation. Moscow, 2013, pp. 20-22.
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44)34. The Law entrusted the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and the election commissions of the constituent entities of the Russian federation with the obligation to ensure the implementation of activities related to "legal education of voters, professional training of commission members and other organizers of elections, referendums; publication of necessary printed products" (paragraph 9, Article 21; 10, clause 23)35.
The Russian Federation is now creating conditions for increasing the electoral activity, in which the main emphasis would be on youth. The election commissions play an important role in the implementation of this policy. Per the Resolution of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation dated 28 February 2006, a set of measures has been implemented to increase the activity of voters and to train the organizers of elections and referenda. To attract young people, the election commissions cooperate with the constituent entities subjects and on the local level36. At the meeting of the State Council of the Russian Federation held on 17 July 2009, a recommendation was made to establish the same age of election to representative bodies of local self-government (18 years) in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation 37.
Consequently, the participants of the electoral policy face the challenge of finding effective forms and methods for youth participation in elections, overcoming both absenteeism and risks of radicalism and extremism. The following effective strategies for increasing the electoral activity of young people can be chosen:
• stimulating interest in political information and participation in politics (education in clubs of young voters, during school and university lectures, in the Internet space and the media, holding academic competitions (Olympiads) and quizzes devoted to the knowledge of the electoral process, business games);
• development of skills to participate in the electoral process through a practical activity (discussion clubs, signature collection, volunteer movement, participation in election commissions and youth 'wings' of the parties, youth election commissions and youth parliaments, student self-government, etc.);
• patriotic and civic education, formation of a positive Russian civil identity, supporting the historical continuity ('historical politics');
34 Federal Law No. 367-FZ 'On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and Citizens' Right to Participate in the Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation' dated 12 June 2002. Moscow, 2002.
3356 Ibidem.
36 Resolution of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation dated 28 February 2006, no. 172 / 1107-4. The Russian Newspaper, 2006, March 2, no. 4008, p. 15.
37 Kas'ianov V.V. State Youth Policy in Russia: Experience, Problems, Prospects. Krasnodar, 2010, p. 94.
• development of know-how and skills for the project activities, teamwork, leadership skills of young people.
The problem of youth participation in the electoral process cannot be solved only by holding events during the election campaign. Increasing the electoral activity of young people implies adopting a systematic approach towards political education, starting with the school age. Young people are included in the electoral process, showing activity in the information space, participating in the activities of youth organizations, various parties, consultative structures in cooperation with the government authorities and local administrations.
The main direction of increasing the electoral activity of young people would be to link the electoral process to the solution of important social and world outlook problems. If elections become a way of expressing young people's interests, they will be transparent to the youth community, and an effective youth electoral policy will be created.
Conclusion
Thus, the Russian electoral policy with regards to youth is state-centric, in which conscientious and constructive participation in the electoral process is, first, regarded as a duty of a citizen. The Russian policy is conservative; it proceeds from the principle of state protection of youth. It details the forms of political participation for young people associated with advisory and training functions instead of lobbying certain political group interests. The European concept characterizes the application of information-communicative and interactive technologies of youth participation in politics more deeply.
The main areas of the Russian Federation's electoral policy with regards to youth include the following: raising youth's awareness of the electoral system and the electoral process; supporting various forms of self-organization (clubs of young voters, youth councils at election commissions and youth election commissions, youth parliaments, youth public chambers); cooperation of election commissions with the political parties and the media; usage of Internet resources to inform the young people. The interactive mechanisms of liaising between young voters, candidates and election commissions are not sufficiently revealed.
References
1. Buckingham D. The Making of Citizens: Young People, News and Politics. London; N.Y.: Routledge; Taylor and Francis Group, 2003. 235 p.
2. Campbell A., Converse Ph.E., Miller W.E., Stokes D.E. The American Voter. N.Y.: John Wi-let and Sons, 1980. 574 p.
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