Representations of Democracy and Participation Among Young People in the City of Córdoba

Abstract

Theoretical positions on democracy are far from homogeneous: “procedural” criteria, centered on electoral processes, are debated alongside “substantive” considerations, especially attentive to the values underlying the participatory practices of political actors and shaped by them. Clarifying these positions is useful when considering the challenges faced by recent democracies such as ours.

Our adherence to a qualitative perspective supports our interest in apprehending the representations of “democracy” and “political participation” present among young people from Córdoba, as well as the relationship they establish between both concepts.

Through in-depth interviews, and taking into account the conditions of discursive production indicated by Bourdieu and Foucault in order to understand the statements of our informants, we arrived at the following interpretations:

- a theoretical association between “democracy”, positively valued, and the ideas of freedom and equality, although distorted in practice by clientelism and corruption;
- the meaning of “political participation” as an experience of learning and cooperation, sustained by personal responsibility and commitment, and strongly linked to electoral processes and “control”; nevertheless, it appears relativized by the lack of interest in effectively exercising it;
- the consideration of participation as a founding element of democracy, although concretely discouraged by widespread discredit toward “politics”.

In conclusion, the conceptual positions assumed by young people can be distinguished from the motivations that guide their political behavior. Even so, the conjunction of both concepts in youthful convictions remains encouraging.