The lowest level of political literacy was observed among young people aged 15 to 19. More than half of them do not know the names of prime ministers of the BiH entities, RS and FBiH, of the prime minister of BiH. Political parties and politicians are perceived extremely negatively among young people.
The Institute for Youth Development KULT conducted a Survey on the political literacy of youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is one of the rare studies on the topic of political literacy in our country based on a representative sample of young people from across the country. The survey, conducted in the first half of 2024, explored the attitudes and opinions of young people on various topics and provided valuable insights into their political literacy and their level of involvement in political and social events.
The data was collected through an anonymous survey of 1069 young people aged 15 to 30 across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The second part of the survey gathered additional insights through focus groups, consisting of group discussions with young people from various regions of BiH.
The research findings show that young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina primarily turn to internet portals (76.7%) and social media for information, with Instagram and Facebook being the most popular. Additionally, more than half of young people receive information through conversations with family, friends, or colleagues. However, the majority of respondents confirmed that they do not pay much attention to verifying the accuracy of the information they encounter in the media, unless they are particularly interested in a topic, in which case they will check multiple sources.
“Young people are not adequately informed about certain current political topics, events, or individuals in the country. For example, many are largely uninformed about key individuals appointed to the highest positions in the executive branch. For instance, nearly two-thirds of respondents didn’t know that Borjana Krišto is currently the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of BiH. Similarly, almost two-thirds of youth surveyed do not know the name of the Prime Minister of the BiH entity Republika Srpska. Results are similar for the FBiH Prime Minister as well, as more than half of the young people surveyed either didn’t know the answer or answered incorrectly,” says Aziz Đipa from the Monitoring and Evaluation Department of the Institute for Youth Development KULT.
The survey reveals a significant lack of knowledge among young people in BiH about the structure of the executive and legislative branches. This highlights the need for more education and information about the political system, the roles of state bodies, and the different branches of government.
The results suggest that most young people in BiH have a basic understanding of the key elements that define a state, such as political organization and territorial integrity. However, the answers that indicate confusion or misunderstanding suggest that more education is needed to help young people better understand the complex aspects of statehood.
The survey revealed that young people generally understand key concepts such as the Constitution, referendum, the Dayton Peace Accords, civil rights, democracy, and dictatorship. Also, the majority are aware of the role of the Office of the High Representative in BiH, as well as the entities and their powers. When it comes to freedom of speech, more than half of young people understand exactly what it means, while a third of respondents believe that freedom of speech is the expression of one’s opinion without any restrictions.
The survey shows that young people have a strong understanding of basic civil rights, such as the right to vote and the legal voting age. In the focus groups, young people discussed why they vote in elections. For most, the decision is driven by a sense of civic duty and the desire for change. However, some mentioned they vote simply to ensure their vote isn’t “misappropriated”.
When asked about social and political actors, most young people expressed a lack of trust in politicians and political parties. Two out of five young people believe that politicians typically do not fulfill their election promises once they are in office, while nearly half (48.1%) say they have no trust in political parties. More than a third of young people do not read the political platforms of parties before voting. One of the reasons they give is that there’s no point in reading them because they “know the parties won’t fulfill any of those promises.”
Results also show that religious institutions instill much more trust in young people. One in five young people have complete confidence in the work of religious institutions, while one in four are undecided. In the focus groups, young people shared their reasons for dissatisfaction with religious institutions and their representatives. They believe that many religious figures are closely linked to politics and focus only on their own interests, which they find unacceptable for religious organizations.
When it comes to trust in different levels of government, young people express the most trust in local government, followed by cantonal, entity, and state levels, with trust decreasing as the government level rises. During focus group discussions, young people clearly expressed negative opinions about the current political leadership. However, 42.2% of those surveyed stated that they were somewhat or extremely interested in politics and political events, while a similar percentage (38.5%) expressed being either partly or completely uninterested in politics. Results also show that men are more interested in politics than women. Likewise, politics is more interesting to young people in older age groups, while younger people mostly show no interest in politics because “they’re too young to get involved in that.”
Young people in BiH generally have a positive attitude towards the country’s membership in the European Union, with almost two-thirds supporting BiH’s accession to the EU. No significant differences were observed among young people based on urbanization, place of residence, or age regarding their attitude toward EU membership. However, a noticeable trend shows that young people in the FBiH are more in favor of EU membership than those in the RS. Slightly more than half of young people support BiH joining NATO. However, similar to EU membership, there is a noticeable trend where young people from the RS are less inclined toward BiH’s NATO membership.
To sum it up, the lowest level of political literacy and engagement is seen among young people aged 15 to 19, particularly those in high school. Results also indicate that political literacy is strongly correlated with the type of secondary education of young people. The research findings reveal that young people with three-year secondary education demonstrated the lowest levels of political literacy, while classical high school students exhibited the highest knowledge levels in the youngest group of respondents.
The data suggests that changes should be made to school curricula so that students in high school learn more about politics. This will help them make better decisions when it comes to voting and forming political opinions in the future.
The young people who scored the highest on the political literacy questionnaire are mostly those with a university education or those who have completed high school. According to the data analyzed by the Institute, men tend to score slightly higher on the average political literacy compared to women. The most politically literate young people are generally 20 or older, and are slightly more likely to be male than female.
Political literacy among young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina can only be improved through a structured and systematic approach that would involve both formal and informal education to achieve the best results. Improving the political literacy of young people cannot be based solely on distributing information through media outlets popular among youth. Understanding political processes, institutions, and the rights and obligations of citizens allows young people to be informed and active participants in society. It forms the foundation for building a democratic society where everyone can contribute to decision-making.
The survey on the political literacy of young people was conducted by the Institute for Youth Development KULT with the support of the Swedish Embassy in BiH (SIDA).
The full analysis of the survey is available HERE.
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