Examples of absenteeism from history. Causes and consequences of political absenteeism. Modern usage of the term

The level of absenteeism in the state characterizes the state of the political system, the attitude of citizens towards it. Ignoring the vote can be both a form of passive approval of the existing political situation, and vice versa - a form of expressing dissatisfaction with the authorities, distrust, leading to alienation of a person from political processes.

Thus, among absenteeists, two main groups can be distinguished:

1) a group of citizens whose decision not to vote is not an expression of their political position and demonstrates conforming behavior;
2) a group of citizens expressing their protest in this way.

The level of absenteeism is influenced by many factors that can be conditionally divided into objective and subjective.

Objective factors include such factors as the level and type of elections, the level of economic development and the social status of the voter, his demographic characteristics.

The subjective ones include the individual and psychological qualities of the voter, the specifics of his culture, including the political, socio-psychological state at the time of the election.

The number of non-voters is largely determined by the level of elections. At the local and regional level elections, there is a significantly smaller number of voters than at the federal level elections. When predicting the turnout of voters for elections, one should also take into account the specifics of the socio-economic situation. As a rule, with an increase in the degree of economic development, the level of political development falls, which can be seen in the example of developed countries.

The number of absenteeists varies in different age groups. As a person grows older and his level of education increases, political activity increases.

Subjective factors not only explain the reasons for refusal to vote, but also link the manifestations of absenteeism with alienation from politics. Voter evasion from participating in voting is a special case of evading participation in political life in general, an indicator of an indifferent attitude towards it. L.Ya. Gozman and E.B. Shestopal, characterizing the causes of absenteeism, identified factors that have a depressing effect on the intensity of political participation: a sense of powerlessness and frustrating features of self-consciousness. The feeling of powerlessness in most cases suppresses the desire to take part in politics, rarely leads to non-institutional forms of political activity.

The above factors are associated with one of the main causes of absenteeism - distrust of political institutions and processes. Distrust gives rise to such a form of political alienation as self-alienation, which manifests itself in absenteeism. Undoubtedly, absenteeism is a natural historical phenomenon that appeared with the spread of universal suffrage, with the granting of the right to participate in political life to groups that were not interested in this.

Today, absenteeism is an integral part of the political life of a state that has chosen a democratic path of development.

Other causes of absenteeism leading to electoral conflict include:

1. Low political and legal culture of the population, which gives rise to indifference to the political process and alienation from it.
2. Causes of a general social and general political nature. As an example: long-term economic difficulties, the solution of which is not significantly affected by the results of the elections, the low level of trust in the current authorities, the low prestige of the deputy corps in the eyes of the population).
3. Reasons related to the imperfection of the legislation and the work of election commissions. As noted by experts, after each election, held both at the federal and regional levels, shortcomings and imperfection of the legislation are revealed, which leads to the introduction of a number of significant amendments to the basic electoral law, i.e. Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights of Citizens and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation". The very presence of such shortcomings provokes mistrust among the population.
4. Reasons related to the peculiarity of a particular election campaign. In particular, an unattractive candidate, uninteresting campaigning.
5. Causes of an accidental nature. For example, weather conditions, the state of health of the voter.

It should be noted that absenteeism is a form of electoral conflict.

We can distinguish the following provisions that most fully characterize absenteeism as an electoral conflict:

1. Absenteeism is a type of electoral conflict, which is very diverse. The latter manifests itself not only in participation or non-participation in elections, but also in voting evasion, as well as in "indifferent" (conformal) voting, protest voting, etc. Each of the above forms of voter behavior indicates the acceptance or refutation of a whole range of social and political norms and values.
2. Absenteeism is, first of all, the deliberate evasion of voters from voting for political reasons.
3. Absenteeism is an indicator of the alienation of citizens from power and property, a form of political protest against the established political system, political regime, form of power, and the established social system as a whole. Because of this, an electoral conflict arises.
4. Absenteeism in its extreme manifestations acquires the features of political extremism. A fertile ground for the expansion of extremist sentiments are social crises and conflicts, violations of democratic rights and freedoms, the collapse of moral guidelines and values.
5. Political extremism and absenteeism are manifested among the most active part of the population. Changing the current political situation is the main direction of their activity. When the political aspirations of extremists and absenteeists intersect or coincide, extreme forms of political transformation are possible. It may seem that the “silent” and “passive” constitute a minority in society, but at a certain moment, for example, in elections, it can manifest itself as a “silent majority”.
6. Voter absenteeism reflects not a rejection of politics per se, but a rejection of established modes of political action. Such an assessment suggests that with the next aggravation of the political situation or any serious turn to other ways of implementing politics: the potential energy of the masses can be transformed into political action or conflict.
7. Absenteeism is a natural historical phenomenon, an integral attribute of a political system built on the principles of democracy and freedom. It is a phenomenon of the political life of any democratic society and the rule of law, which has entered the descending branch of its development. The wide spread of absenteeism, both in the countries of classical democracy and those that have recently embarked on the path of democratic development, is associated with the growth of dysfunctional processes in their political systems, the exhaustion of the creative potential of historically established democratic institutions, the emergence of a “subjective” type of political culture among the broad masses. under the influence of the media.
8. The scale of absenteeism and the forms of its manifestation are directly related to the historical conditions for the formation of democratic institutions, with differences in the mentality of peoples, with the existence of various traditions and customs in a given society.
9. The interpretation of the electoral conflict (one of the types of which is absenteeism), present in the works of Western authors, deserves critical evaluation, because it is extremely broad and equates the electoral conflict and political conflict. Meanwhile, the electoral conflict is only one of the forms of political conflict. Electoral conflict - value-oriented contradictions in the choice of a certain political force, existing in the form of either a political institution or a personified image.
10. Voter turnout is significantly influenced by many factors, including the type of elections, the characteristics of the region, the characteristics of the election campaign, the level of education, the type of settlement, the type of political culture that dominates the society, and the type of electoral system. Voter participation rates are lower in countries that use majoritarian or majority-proportional counting systems and higher in countries with proportional electoral systems.

Thus, absenteeism in modern society is visible for a long time, is stable. So far, there are no clear signs of narrowing its scope. At the same time, the political elite, parties, society as a whole cannot be indifferent to this phenomenon, which does not fit into the contours of the democratic process. Since absenteeism is a multifactorial phenomenon in nature and conditionality, taking it into account will make it possible to concentrate efforts on eliminating problem points in the political space. Absenteeism has a negative impact on the development of the electoral process. In addition, it demonstrates the dissatisfaction of the population with the possibilities of political choice. Further study of the content, factors, causes that influence the emergence and spread of absenteeism seems to be an important condition for expanding the space for the political activity of the masses in Russian society.

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Social practice convincingly shows that the participation of the population in the political process and, above all, in the formation of elected authorities is a condition for the successful functioning of any society built on democratic principles. None of the scientists and politicians committed to the principles of democracy questions the fact that the exclusion of representatives of certain social groups from active political life, the increase in the number of those who consciously distance themselves from politics, inevitably hinders the formation of civil society structures, negatively affects the effectiveness activities of elected authorities.

It is obvious to almost everyone who deals with the problems of politics in scientific and practical terms that the growth in the number of absenteeists is evidence of the imperfection of the existing political system, an indicator of the growth of distrust in democratic institutions, an indicator of the growth of social tension in society. It is with this circumstance, first of all, that close interest in the problem of absenteeism, which is demonstrated by many of domestic and foreign scientists, is connected.

Absenteeism is a natural historical phenomenon, an integral attribute of a political system built on the principles of democracy and freedom. It is a phenomenon of the political life of any democratic society and the rule of law, which has entered the descending branch of its development. The wide spread of absenteeism, both in the countries of classical democracy and those that have recently embarked on the path of democratic development, is associated with the growth of dysfunctional processes in their political systems, the exhaustion of the creative potential of historically established democratic institutions, the emergence of a “subjective” type of political culture among the broad masses. under the influence of the media.

The scale of absenteeism and the forms of its manifestation are directly related to the historical conditions for the formation of democratic institutions, with differences in the mentality of peoples, with the existence of various traditions and customs in a given society.

As is known, one of the characteristic features of the political life of a post-industrial society is a sharp decline in the political activity of citizens. An increase in the number of absenteeists is recorded in almost all economically developed countries, from England to Japan. Thus, we can say that absenteeism has become a kind of "calling card" of modern times.

The number of absenteeists is also growing in Russia, where from 40 to 70% of potential voters do not participate in elections at various levels, while in the late 80s and early 90s in the elections of deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, and then deputies of the first and second State Dumas RF participated more than 85% of those included in the lists of voters.

Some modern politicians point out the simple laziness of voters as the reason for the growing absenteeism. Such an argument is hardly persuasive. The reasons, of course, are deeper, more serious and require special research. The analysis of political scientists and sociologists reveals the following reasons for the growing absenteeism:

• 1. Causes of a general social and general political nature. As an example: long-term economic difficulties, the solution of which is not significantly affected by the election results, low level of trust in the current authorities, low prestige of the deputy corps in the eyes of the population.
• 2. Reasons related to the imperfection of the legislation and the work of election commissions. As noted by experts, after each election, held both at the federal and regional levels, shortcomings and imperfection of the legislation are revealed, which leads to the introduction of a number of significant amendments to the basic electoral law, i.e. Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Basic Guarantees of Citizens' Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation" Russian Federation". The very presence of such shortcomings provokes mistrust among the population.
• 3. Causes related to the peculiarity of a particular election campaign. In particular, an unattractive candidate, uninteresting campaigning.
• 4. Causes of a random nature. For example, weather conditions, the state of health of the voter E. Mikova. Causes of absenteeism among the youth and possible ways to eliminate it [Electronic resource] / E. Mikova. - Access mode: http://dо.gendocs.ru/dоss/index-38515. html (November 27, 2013).

It is worth noting that these reasons affect all categories of citizens. But young people are recognized as the most active social group, but it is they who, as a rule, form the basis of modern absenteeists. A young man aged 18-25 does not attend a polling station for a number of reasons: a look at his parents, individual interests, lack of faith in the power of his own voice. As studies by political scientists show, a person becomes socially mature and adapted to modern conditions of society by the age of 21, that is, this is the middle of youth, after this milestone it is quite difficult to change preferences, including political views. If we imagine that even now a modern young man, a worthy part of society and the state, ignores participation in the life of his country by choosing a representative of power, then the future situation in this country does not seem so cloudless.

To date, among the problems of public consciousness associated with absenteeism, the most relevant is youth absenteeism. At the same time, it should be noted that the low level of political participation of young people, or political absenteeism, is not an exclusively Russian problem. "Absenteeism is more observed among young people" regardless of their citizenship. Even in the developed democratic countries of Europe, attracting young people to participate in elections - the most massive, public, simple and least time- and resource-consuming form of political participation - is by no means a trivial task. Measures aimed at increasing the level of political participation of young people are being taken at the highest level, programs are being created, funds are being allocated, but young people still refuse to come to the polls.

In Russia, the situation is more complicated. If we talk about the reasons for the political absenteeism of young people in Russia, then experts identify a whole range of those, among which the following seem to me to be the most important.

“Firstly, the low level of political culture and political and legal literacy of young people, which leads to the fact that young people, especially those who live in the regions, do not have a clear idea of ​​​​the mechanisms for translating their interests into power, as well as ways of influencing on the political process and state power, mechanisms for monitoring the execution of a public request, etc. In the context of democratization and reform, it is especially important that the population, in particular, the young, adequately perceive the ideological and other foundations of the political course, decisions made and political actions of the authorities. This provides legitimacy, that is, support for ongoing reforms. That is why the low level of political literacy causes either apolitical or protest moods.

Secondly, the loss of confidence in state bodies and procedures, for example, in the electoral process. This happens either when the public demand at the “input” does not correspond to the political decision at the “output”, or when the situation has already developed, according to which the results of the political participation of young people do not find a response in state structures, due to which they lose faith that able to break down this barrier and change something in the political system or political course. In addition, the corruption of the political system, both at the regional and national levels, contributes to the assertion of the opinion among young people that any important reforms can be “slowed down” or rejected, and instead changes will be carried out that are beneficial to the political or economic elite.

Thirdly, there is still an idea that there is no dialogue between civil society and the authorities, but there are almost confrontational relations. This is due to the tradition that has been formed throughout the history of the Russian state that strong power in the country is the main subject of the political process, which regulates the life of the population, chooses and implements the political course and reforms both by legal and violent methods. And the people, in turn, is a kind of opposition to state power, which is always “on the periphery” of the political process and is mobilized only during the crisis of the political system (transitional periods). This is how the apoliticality, the passivity of the population in relation to politics in the country was formed. That is, we can conclude that this reason closely interacts with the type of political culture. Until recently, in Russia, it was designated as a subject, that is, there was a weak participation of the population in politics, its massive resignation to the fact that the political course would be carried out by state power with almost no regard for public opinion, along with the expectations that a strong government would satisfy all needs and provide a decent standard of living. However, now, in my opinion, there is a gradual transformation of the subservient political culture into a culture of participation (activist political culture). To verify this statement, it must be said that more and more people are striving to take an active part in the formation and implementation of policies, regardless of what methods they choose - legal or illegal, positive or protest.

Fourthly, the already mentioned standard of living of young people also plays a significant role, since, having a low income level, a young person tends to overcome his financial problems rather than political ones. The latter, logically, are relegated to the background. Fifthly, the absence of constantly and effectively functioning socio-political "elevators" - that is, those factors and mechanisms, perhaps even qualifications, that decisively affect the vertical social mobility of the population, in this case , in the political sphere. This is directly related to the recruitment of new competent members from society into the ranks of the country's political elite, which in practice is replaced by the selection of new "political personnel" through personal connections or corruption machinations. Another problem within this reason is the resistance of the older generations, who have been firmly occupying a place in politics for a long time, aimed at preventing the younger generation from ruling. Most often this is due to the lack of qualifications of new cadres or their radical desire to change the political course, but the main reason is the fear of the older generation to lose their posts.

Summarizing all of the above, the problem of absenteeism as one of the basic variations of the political participation of young people in Russia is now quite acute, because all of the above reasons persist to this day "Katusheva K. Trends in political participation of youth in Russia: political absenteeism, autonomous and mobilized participation resource] / K. Katusheva. - Access mode: http://rud.exdat.com/doss/index-727397.html (November 30, 2013). I would like to note one more important fact. Since the institution of elections was brought to Russia from Western democratic regimes, which in the first decades of democratization and modernization in the world (50s of the XX centuries) were considered a universal tracing paper for building democracy, it has not yet fully taken root in our country due to the national specificity and historical development. Instead of receiving support from the population, it is rather losing its value in the eyes of citizens, which is caused by corruption, political traditions, and many other factors. All this leads to political absenteeism or the growth of protest moods.

Among the reasons listed above, the most serious for young people is the low political and legal culture, indifference and alienation from the electoral process. To eliminate it, it is necessary to increase the activity of the young voter, not only to acquaint him with the constitutional right to elect and be elected, but also to show the mechanism for the implementation of this right. Legal activity should be understood, first of all, as free, lawful behavior in terms of exercising one's subjective electoral right. For the purpose of the most comprehensive analysis of the causes of youth absenteeism and the possibilities for its elimination, we can note the elements that make up the legal activity of citizens - this is legal education, legal culture and legal awareness.

As a result of legal education, a citizen develops legal needs, interests, attitudes, value orientations, which to a large extent are important components of the socio-psychological regulation of lawful behavior. The main thing here is that people's simple knowledge of the laws, the structure of the state, and legal proceedings is not yet a guarantee of the citizenship of these people's actions in the political and legal sphere. Legal culture also acts as an element of the legal activity of citizens, being its foundation. It is expressed in the unity of the lawful and socially active behavior of the individual, his active life position in the field of law, legality and striving for the rule of law.

As for legal awareness as one of the elements of the legal activity of citizens, the main thing here is the readiness of a citizen for the process of implementing legal norms in his behavior.

Legal awareness also takes into account the moral and spiritual potential of the population, historical features and characteristics of Russian society. It is recognized that citizens themselves, based on their universal, natural essence, must find the most correct real way of applying legal activity, in particular, in the electoral law, where the need for choice is dictated already in the definition.

So, there are quite a few reasons for evading elections, but among the reasons listed above, the most serious for young people is low political and legal culture, indifference and alienation from the electoral process, which obviously leads us to not a better future. It is necessary to change the stereotype that exists in society, because free elections are not the freedom to go or not go to the polls, but the freedom to choose among the candidates presented.

In modern Russia, the proportion of politically apathetic people in the population is quite large. This is due to the crisis of mass consciousness, the conflict of values, the alienation of the majority of the population from power and distrust of it, political and legal nihilism. Many have lost faith in their own abilities, they do not believe that they can influence political processes, they believe that political decisions are made regardless of their participation in voting and other political actions. People do not feel personal gain from participating in politics, believing that it serves the interests of the elite.

Absenteeism of a certain part of the Russian population was significantly influenced by the collapse of the myth about the speedy entry into the circle of highly developed countries.

The assessment of the role of absenteeism in political science is ambiguous. Some researchers insist on the need to involve as many people as possible in various forms of political participation. Others believe that limited participation and non-participation can be considered as a stabilizing factor, since the activation of apolitical sections of the population, their inclusion in the political process can lead to destabilization of the political system.

The Russian practice of the development of the political process testifies to the unpredictable, and sometimes contrary to expectations, the nature of the behavior of the Russian voter. The trend towards a weakening of the relationship between social status, belonging to a certain group and electoral choice, which appeared in the last decades of the 20th century, suggests that there is no correlation between political choice, socio-professional affiliation and the social status of the individual who makes this choice. This is a distinctive feature of the development of the political process in Russia. The problem of absenteeism is one of the key problems of Russian democracy.

The rapid expansion of absenteeism in recent years indicates the instability of the political system that has developed in Russia. The decrease in electoral activity is, first of all, an expression of the population's disillusionment with the Russian electoral system, a loss of confidence in the authorities, evidence of an increase in protest potential in various social groups, a nihilistic attitude towards democratic institutions, political parties and their leaders Politology: Textbook / Ed. M.A. Vasilika. - M.: Gardariki, 2005.

Absenteeism. Ways to overcome

The problem of absenteeism in Russia is now acute enough that it needs not only discussion, but also the adoption of some measures and decisions. However, before considering the problem of absenteeism in electoral behavior from all possible angles, it is necessary to understand what absenteeism is.

Absentism - (from Latin "absens, absentis" - absent) - the removal of voters from voting. In modern democratic countries, absenteeism is a fairly common phenomenon: often 50% or even more of the eligible voters do not take part in the voting. In Russia, this phenomenon is also common. As in foreign countries, in the Russian Federation the greatest activity of voters is manifested in national elections, it is much lower in regional elections and elections of local governments.

However, in the context of life realities, as well as within the framework of our study, the phenomenon of absenteeism must be understood much broader. Absenteeism itself is a term of broad application. In general terms, absenteeism is defined as the absence of individuals in a certain place at a certain time and the failure to perform the corresponding social functions associated with this. At the same time, an innumerable number of shades of this phenomenon are distinguished. So, we can talk about political, labor, agricultural absenteeism; Let us define each of these types within the framework of a given problematic.

Political absenteeism is the evasion of voters from participating in voting in the elections of representatives of power, the head of state, etc.

Political absenteeism does not mean, however, the complete exclusion of a person from the field of political power relations, since, as a rule, he remains a law-abiding citizen, a conscientious taxpayer. The position of non-participation taken by a person concerns only those types of political activity where he can somehow prove himself as an active person: express his opinion, express his involvement in some group or organization, determine his attitude towards this or that candidate for deputy parliament.

Absenteeism arises when external coercion to political activity disappears, when a person has the right and a real opportunity to refrain from political actions. As a mass phenomenon, absenteeism is absent in totalitarian societies. Therefore, many researchers do not give an unambiguous assessment of this phenomenon. On the one hand, the existence of the problem of absenteeism indicates that the individual has the right to choose the line of behavior that suits his interests, but on the other hand, absenteeism is undoubtedly evidence of people's indifference to elections and political events.

Absenteeism is dangerous because it leads to a decrease in the number of voters, with the turnout of which the elections are considered valid.

Labor absenteeism - in a broad sense - the absence of an individual in the workplace caused by various reasons; in the narrow sense - avoiding work without a good reason. Typically, such absenteeism is expressed in a one-day absence from work due to illness, but without visiting a doctor.

Agricultural absenteeism is a form of land ownership in which the owner of the land, who is not involved in the production of products, receives income in the form of rent. At the same time, the land is cultivated by tenant farmers or sharecroppers in the absence of its owner.

Thus, absenteeism affects not only the narrow political aspects of life, but is a fairly broad social phenomenon, expressed in the non-fulfillment of a wide variety of social functions. The fight against absenteeism that exists in our society should be carried out not only within the framework of overcoming it in the electoral consciousness of society, but also affect all other life spheres, because in this case, everything global starts small.

However, we will not expand our study to solve global social problems, but will focus on the problem of absenteeism in the electoral behavior of Russian citizens.

To date, among the problems of public consciousness associated with absenteeism, the most relevant is youth absenteeism. At the same time, it should be noted that the low level of political participation of young people, or political absenteeism, is not an exclusively Russian problem. "Absenteeism is more observed among young people" regardless of their citizenship. Even in the developed democratic countries of Europe, attracting young people to participate in elections - the most massive, public, simple and least time- and resource-consuming form of political participation - is by no means a trivial task. Measures aimed at increasing the level of political participation of young people are being taken at the highest level, programs are being created, funds are being allocated, but young people still refuse to come to the polls.

In Russia, the situation is more complicated. If we talk about the reasons for the political absenteeism of young people in Russia, then experts identify a whole range of those, among which the following seem to me to be the most important.

Low standard of living of the country's population (especially young people). All the thoughts of people come down to finding means of subsistence, for anything else, including activity in the public sphere, there is no time, no strength, no desire. People with low incomes were and remain extremely apolitical.

The lack of real, at least in the short term, results of political participation, which deprives young people of faith in the ability to change at least something in their lives through political participation.

Political and legal illiteracy, when the majority of young people simply do not imagine how they can participate in the political life of the country. Even the chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation noted that "many problems in elections in Russia arise due to the low level of legal culture."

Emotional alienation of young people from power, associated with a high level of corruption and incompetence of existing power institutions.

Opposition on the part of the older generations, who have become entrenched in politics and often do not want to allow competitors represented by young people to enter it.

With the political participation of the population in Russia, things have always been bad, those in power rarely agreed to cede even a small fraction of their powers to the people. A certain political activity of the population manifested itself after the Patriotic War of 1812 and especially after the foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1813, when the troops returning from Europe brought liberal ideas to Russia. The dissatisfaction with democratic expectations led in 1825 to an uprising of the Decembrists, among whom there were many young maximalist-minded officers. However, in general, the performance of the Decembrists was small and did not achieve the intended goals.

Unfortunately, these trends have survived to this day, having survived all our historical cataclysms. Exploring the problem of absenteeism within the framework of the problem of the influence of social factors on the behavior of the Russian electorate, we noted among one of the areas of work to increase the electoral activity of the population - work with youth. After all, young people with their fresh energy, active life position, minimal dependence on social conventions should be the basis and support of the elective institution in the state.

The institution of elections, as is well known, was "imported" to Russia relatively recently, and its development by domestic political culture under any circumstances could not but be a more or less lengthy process. However, the results of the latest survey show that the value of this institution in the eyes of Russian citizens is not only not growing, but, on the contrary, is significantly declining.

According to the results of a sociological survey conducted in April 2003, 73% of Russians admitted that elections were necessary in principle, while 20% considered them unnecessary. Now the first point of view is shared by only 61% of the respondents; the share of supporters of the opposite position did not grow too much (up to 23%), however, the number of those who found it difficult to answer this question more than doubled - from 7 to 16%.

More often than others, young respondents (68%), citizens with higher education (73%), residents of megacities and other large cities (66%) recognize the need for elections.

The downward trend in the subjective value of elections is also manifested in the actual electoral behavior of Russian citizens, and, to an even greater extent, in their attitude to voting. Today, 39% of respondents say that they always participate in elections, 22% - that they do it often, 26% - rarely, and 11% - that they never participate in elections. It should be noted that young respondents, who are more willing than others to recognize elections as necessary, especially often say that they rarely or never go to elections - 31% and 21%, respectively. The question about participation in the elections in the same wording was asked to respondents four times during one year (from November 2002 to October 2003). The share of those who answered that they always come to the ballot boxes varied in a narrow “corridor” of 47–53%. Now there are 39% of such respondents.

Thus, the real reduction in the electoral activity of Russians is not as significant as one might assume on the basis of these data. However, they obviously indicate a tendency to discredit the institution of elections, that a skeptical attitude towards them is becoming more and more “accepted” in Russian society, and electoral absenteeism is becoming an increasingly legitimate practice.

Among the surveys of the population conducted by employees and analysts of the Public Opinion Foundation, the question of the reasons for the decline in the electoral activity of our fellow citizens was often raised. Answering the corresponding open question, they most often explained absenteeism as disappointment in the institution of elections, perceiving it as useless, not influencing people's lives (“disappointed in the elections - nothing changes”, “do not see the point in participating in elections”) and distrust of elections, fear of fraud (“apparently, there are some distortions in the counting of votes”, “people do not believe in fair elections, they feel that they are being deceived”).

Short description

Political absenteeism does not mean, however, the complete exclusion of a person from the field of political power relations, since, as a rule, he remains a law-abiding citizen, a conscientious taxpayer. The position of non-participation taken by a person concerns only those types of political activity where he can somehow prove himself as an active person: express his opinion, express his involvement in some group or organization, determine his attitude towards this or that candidate for deputy parliament.

1. Introduction
2. Absenteeism and ways to overcome it
3. Causes of absenteeism among young people
4. Consequences of absenteeism
5. Conclusion

Attached files: 1 file

1. Introduction

3. Causes of absenteeism among young people

4. Consequences of absenteeism

Political absenteeism is the evasion of voters from participating in voting in the elections of representatives of power, the head of state, etc.

Political absenteeism does not mean, however, the complete exclusion of a person from the field of political power relations, since, as a rule, he remains a law-abiding citizen, a conscientious taxpayer. The position of non-participation taken by a person concerns only those types of political activity where he can somehow prove himself as an active person: express his opinion, express his involvement in some group or organization, determine his attitude towards this or that candidate for deputy parliament.

Absenteeism arises when external coercion to political activity disappears, when a person has the right and a real opportunity to refrain from political actions. As a mass phenomenon, absenteeism is absent in totalitarian societies. Therefore, many researchers do not give an unambiguous assessment of this phenomenon. On the one hand, the existence of the problem of absenteeism indicates that the individual has the right to choose the line of behavior that suits his interests, but on the other hand, absenteeism is undoubtedly evidence of people's indifference to elections and political events.

Absenteeism is dangerous because it leads to a decrease in the number of voters, with the turnout of which the elections are considered valid.

An important factor is the calm foreign and domestic political situation in the country. And this is quite natural. The political theme becomes the leading one only during periods of revolutionary upheavals, deep social and economic crises. In prosperous periods, due to the inertia of society, politics occupies the minds of a very small part of it.

In a sociological study, we examined three ways of overcoming political absenteeism, which seem to us the most effective.

1. Increasing the electoral and political culture of the population.

2. Accounting for the influence of social factors in the election campaign.

3. Overcoming the social crisis.

For the first direction the youth question is important first of all. Moreover, a wide variety of ways are possible here: both in-depth study in schools and institutes of all profiles (in addition to political science and social science) of the basics of active suffrage, and the holding of thematic election games, referendum games, and the organization of parties and movements within school and student groups, and implementation of the state model at the game level and much, much more.

In addition, the election programs of candidates should contain certain social factors that would create citizens' interest in the electoral process.

The third direction - overcoming the social crisis - is quite popular not only among sociologists, but also among politicians, public figures, etc. This direction is connected mainly with the increase of the spiritual, economic and political prestige of the country in the eyes of its citizens.

I dare say that some believe that this is one of the forms of deliberate boycott of elections by voters, refusal to participate in them; passive protest of the population against the existing form of government, political regime. In Ukraine, people who deliberately boycott participation in elections are usually called "anti-sikhs" (protyvsikhs).
At the first stage, in the presidential elections of 2010, when the ballots still contained the column "I vote against all"*, a movement arose among the democratic intelligentsia to vote "against all" - against all candidates, including the antagonists of Yanukovych and Tymoshenko. It was a conscious protest, first of all, against the bankrupt democratic forces, which did not want to heed the demands of the public and "clean up".
Such sentiments of "democratic and patriotic" voters were actively used by technologists from the campaign headquarters of the Party of Regions, the main rival of the pro-Ukrainian political forces, in areas where the majority were opponents of the Regions. Thus, the turnout was "lost", that is, the number of votes for presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko decreased. In conditions when the country was divided into approximately two equal political camps, such tactics were very effective and, as a result, brought victory.
Later, the legislators removed the column "do not support anyone" in the ballot. And therefore, most of the representatives of this trend of voters deliberately ignored participation in the voting, but some voters still came to the polling stations and spoiled the ballots so that their vote would not be "lost", that is, so that the active voter's ballot was not used to falsify the voting results.

3. Causes of absenteeism among young people

To date, among the problems of public consciousness associated with absenteeism, the most relevant is youth absenteeism. At the same time, it should be noted that the low level of political participation of young people, or political absenteeism, is not an exclusively Russian problem. "Absenteeism is more observed among young people" regardless of their citizenship. Even in the developed democratic countries of Europe, attracting young people to participate in elections - the most massive, public, simple and least time- and resource-consuming form of political participation - is by no means a trivial task. Measures aimed at increasing the level of political participation of young people are being taken at the highest level, programs are being created, funds are being allocated, but young people still refuse to come to the polls.

The analysis of political scientists and sociologists reveals the following reasons for the growing absenteeism:

1. Low political and legal culture of the population, which gives rise to indifference to the political process and alienation from it.
2. Causes of a general social and general political nature. As an example: long-term economic difficulties, the solution of which is not significantly affected by the election results, low level of trust in the current authorities, low prestige of the deputy corps in the eyes of the population.
3. Causes related to the peculiarity of a particular election campaign. In particular, an unattractive candidate, uninteresting campaigning.
4. Causes of a random nature. For example, weather conditions, the state of health of the voter.

Among the reasons listed above, the most serious for young people is the low political and legal culture, indifference and alienation from the electoral process. To eliminate it, it is necessary to increase the activity of the young voter, not only to acquaint him with the constitutional right to elect and be elected, but also to show the mechanism for the implementation of this right. Legal activity should be understood, first of all, as free, lawful behavior in terms of exercising one's subjective electoral right. For the purpose of the most comprehensive analysis of the causes of youth absenteeism and the possibilities of its elimination, we can note the elements that make up the legal activity of citizens - this is legal education, legal culture and legal awareness.

As a result of legal education, a citizen develops legal needs, interests, attitudes, value orientations, which to a large extent are important components of the socio-psychological regulation of lawful behavior. The main thing here is that people's simple knowledge of the laws, the structure of the state, and legal proceedings is not yet a guarantee of the citizenship of the actions of these people in the political and legal sphere.

Legal culture also acts as an element of the legal activity of citizens, being its foundation. It will be expressed in the unity of the lawful and socially active behavior of the individual, his active life position in the field of law, legality and striving for the rule of law.

4. Consequences of absenteeism

First of all, absenteeism can lead to falsification. In many countries, the voices of people who did not show up for elections are used and voted for whoever is needed. One of the reasons for absenteeism is that political apathy can be influenced by distrust of political institutions, a feeling that it is impossible to somehow influence the decision-making process. They often say: "Nothing depends on me, everything has already been decided there."

So this is the biggest mistake. If people do not go to the polls, it will soon be so. And then it will lead to the fact that why hold these elections at all. There will be no meaning. And people will not know at all what is happening in their country. The assessment of the role of absenteeism in political science is ambiguous. Some researchers insist on the need to involve as many people as possible in various forms of political participation. Others believe that limited participation and non-participation can be considered as a stabilizing factor, since the activation of apolitical sections of the population, their inclusion in the political process can lead to destabilization of the political system. You need to go to the polls, because it is necessary to change the stereotype that exists in society, because free elections are not the freedom to go or not go to the polls, but the freedom to choose among the candidates presented.

Absenteeism has negative consequences. Indeed, in order to recognize the elections as having taken place, and in order to determine the winners based on their results, the participation of a certain number of registered voters is necessary. The non-appearance of voters does not allow the formation of elected bodies or the filling of elective offices. Under such conditions, there is a need for new elections, and, consequently, additional financial costs. Quite often, repeated elections do not give the desired results, as a result of which electoral vacancies are not filled, which, by the way, also applies to the deputy composition of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and local governments.