Leaders and Wingmen: Youth Policy in the Views of its Participants - an Evidence from Krasnodar Territory

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of young people’s perceptions of regional youth policy. The authors use the theoretical model of the subjective space of politics to analyze empirical data reflecting the state of the subjective space of sectoral policy - the state youth policy of the Krasnodar Krai. The main motives of youth activity in regional youth policy are determined based on the data from a mass survey of young people, focus group interviews and a series of expert sessions with representatives of authorities and other entities implementing state youth policy. The article reveals the constructive and negative potential of young people’s social activity, as well as identifies the main social profiles of young people and describes their content parameters. The authors conclude that young people are involved in interactions with the authorities to solve their own problems or the problems of other people. They show that social projects, territorial development projects, the activities of political parties and local self-government have the biggest potential for involving young people in social activity. They also note the existing potential of young people’s participation in protests. The authors describe the profiles of young people according to two parameters: according to the severity of social orientation young people are divided into consumers (orientation towards themselves, solving their own problems) and transformers (orientation towards solving other people’s problems); and according to the degree of leadership positions and social activity they are characterized as leaders and followers.