Title Politinio ir socialinio pasitikėjimo bei dalyvavimo raiška Lietuvos demokratijoje /
Translation of Title The expression of political and social trust and participation in Lithuanian democracy.
Authors Bartuškaitė, Miglė ; Žilys, Apolonijus
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Is Part of Kultūra ir visuomenė : socialinių tyrimų žurnalas = Culture and society : journal of social research.. Kaunas : Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto leidykla. 2011, nr. 2(1), p. 27-47.. ISSN 2029-4573
Keywords [eng] Political trust ; Social trust ; Participation ; Community ; Relation to political institutions ; Democracy consolidation
Abstract [eng] Analyzing the qualitative data from 4 focus-group interviews (2 interviews were conducted in urban and 2 in rural locations), this article identifies features of political and social trust and participation in relation to the consolidation of democracy in Lithuania. Lithuanians have low trust in political institutions; their trust depends on complex factors such as a big social gap between the political institutions and citizens, negative portrayals of the political institutions in mass media, centralized decisions of the political institutions or minimization of a communal voice. Political trust is low in communities and locations in which local authorities do not support or maintain any social contacts with local residents. Mass media influence immensely citizens’ political trust in the national government or political institutions; citizens’ distrust is often based on media scandals involving politicians and public figures. Lithuanians’ participation in communal or public activities is often characterized by the principle of competition: several communities or non-governmental organizations in the same location often duplicate same tasks and compete with each other. Similarly, because of their narrow activities and social networks, communities tend to maintain fragmentary connections with local residents. Pragmatic, rational and personal interests as well as a trust in narrow social networks characterize the low level of social trust in people and limited communal participation in Lithuania.
Published Kaunas : Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto leidykla
Type Journal article
Language Lithuanian
Publication date 2011