Politics social representations and democracy

Abstract

This is a study of the social representations appears on the politics and democracy, elaborated by youth sample between 18 and 29 years old. For the analysis of these representations it has been used a method of free association of words as stimuli and one evaluation survey, that takes the form similar a semantic differential. The outputs obteined through the free association of words were analysed according of multivariated methods (hierarchical cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling and correspondences analysis). The results on the image survey were summarized in four principal factors and compares averages for multiple categorization. The principal observed effect is the rejection, on the part of the subjects of the sample, to taking part across the institutional channels and by means of conventional methods of political action. His action indicates us that these young men, far from reducing importance to the political life, possess a novel meaning of the political thing and that it can be opposed to the most traditional definitions of the same one. On the other hand, his disenchantment is evident with the really existing democracy, there being able to be traced in his daily relations alternative forms of organization and that they consider to be nearer to his version of the democracy.