Page 71 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, no. 5-6: Radicalization, Violent Extremism and Conflicting Diversity, eds. Mitja Sardoč and Tomaž Deželan
P. 71
bovan, m. kovačić, m. vučković ■ being mainstream, being radical ...
sociologists and political scientists. Hence, by understanding their per-
ception one can analyse the position of young people in society, current
developments and projections for future development of society, and the
structure and constellation of societal values due to youth’s characteristic
of being “one of the most sensitive seismographs of social change” (Ilisin
et al, 2013: p. 9).
Results of the data obtained from the focus groups conducted
with young people, point to some rather compelling findings (Table 2).
Generally, young people are rather pessimistic when characterising society
as well as themselves. Despite nominally claiming radicalism to be a neu-
tral concept, they in fact perceive it negatively, particularly when describ-
ing a radical young person. In continuation we analyse each set of charac-
teristics and discuss wider consequences of these findings for society.
Table 2. Youth perception of mainstream and radical individuals in
Croatian society.
Citizens Mainstream Radical
Young shift from mainstream;
people apathetic; (in)competence;
incompetent and non-informed; set of values;
dissatisfied and lazy; neutral concept;
prone to media manipulation; reductionism;
single issue activism; reaction on society
(non)solidarity; enthralled;
dependent on the context exclusive;
similar to typical citizens; the importance of public expression;
confused, anxious, impatient; the importance of set of values;
disinterested and non-informed; machiavellianism;
pliable; solidarity;
dependent on the system;
identity issues;
prospective
Corrosive Apathy
It is no surprise young people believe Croatian citizens are relatively pas-
sive and apathetic. In public discourse there is an ongoing perception
that the average Croatian citizen is disinterested, dissatisfied, or even lazy
when it comes to standing up for society or themselves (Gvozdanovic &
Bagic, 2015). Interestingly, young people very distinctively address pre-
vailing problems of Croatian society, namely corruption, nepotism, lack
of responsiveness between the government and society, weak econo-
my, low salaries, etc. Young people claim the average citizen is aware of
these problems but not ready to actively engage in changing their reality.
When asked whom to blame for this, the unfavourable situation Croatian
69
sociologists and political scientists. Hence, by understanding their per-
ception one can analyse the position of young people in society, current
developments and projections for future development of society, and the
structure and constellation of societal values due to youth’s characteristic
of being “one of the most sensitive seismographs of social change” (Ilisin
et al, 2013: p. 9).
Results of the data obtained from the focus groups conducted
with young people, point to some rather compelling findings (Table 2).
Generally, young people are rather pessimistic when characterising society
as well as themselves. Despite nominally claiming radicalism to be a neu-
tral concept, they in fact perceive it negatively, particularly when describ-
ing a radical young person. In continuation we analyse each set of charac-
teristics and discuss wider consequences of these findings for society.
Table 2. Youth perception of mainstream and radical individuals in
Croatian society.
Citizens Mainstream Radical
Young shift from mainstream;
people apathetic; (in)competence;
incompetent and non-informed; set of values;
dissatisfied and lazy; neutral concept;
prone to media manipulation; reductionism;
single issue activism; reaction on society
(non)solidarity; enthralled;
dependent on the context exclusive;
similar to typical citizens; the importance of public expression;
confused, anxious, impatient; the importance of set of values;
disinterested and non-informed; machiavellianism;
pliable; solidarity;
dependent on the system;
identity issues;
prospective
Corrosive Apathy
It is no surprise young people believe Croatian citizens are relatively pas-
sive and apathetic. In public discourse there is an ongoing perception
that the average Croatian citizen is disinterested, dissatisfied, or even lazy
when it comes to standing up for society or themselves (Gvozdanovic &
Bagic, 2015). Interestingly, young people very distinctively address pre-
vailing problems of Croatian society, namely corruption, nepotism, lack
of responsiveness between the government and society, weak econo-
my, low salaries, etc. Young people claim the average citizen is aware of
these problems but not ready to actively engage in changing their reality.
When asked whom to blame for this, the unfavourable situation Croatian
69
