Enforced apathy and promoting democratic engagement

The making of political apathy

Many countries struggle with political apathy. To understand how apathy develops, research investigated how political apathy developed for young Russians, and noted an ecosystem of transmitted messages and cultural norms that feed into political apathy. The researcher identified drivers of apathy at the national, normative, and individual levels: On a broad national level, young Russians were fearful of their fellow citizens and the potential for violent revolution and saw a repressive state as being the lesser of the two evils; At a normative level, gendered norms around appropriate emotional expression limited emotionally-driven activism; and at a individual level, continued experiences of failure made apathy more psychologically safe. This study emphasizes that since political apathy is created by drivers at many levels, if we want to combat it, we have to be prepared to address all of those drivers.

Inducing democratic participation through online messaging

How can we effectively encourage democratic engagement in a new democracy? Researchers created three theory-derived messages and shared them online with Tunisians in the leadup to the 2019 election. One message focused on the gains under a democratic Tunisia, another on the harmful dictatorship before the transition to democracy, and the third message on practical guidance on how to register to vote and participate in the upcoming election. These messages were shared with participants over social media, and results indicated that all three of the messages made participants more positive about democracy, more negative about the previous dictatorship, and increased interest in registering to vote. These findings highlight the effectiveness of evidence-based messaging programs to combat democratic and political apathy and disengagement.

Do you have a study we should share for a future Facty Friday? Send an email to drg.el@usaid.gov!