Empowerment or democratic divide? internet-based political participation of young immigrants and young natives in Germany

Authors:
Viktoria Spaiser
Affiliations:
University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany
Venue:
Information Polity - Special issue on Open Government and Public Participation: Issues and Challenges in Creating Public Value
Year:
2012

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Abstract

In this paper, young people's political participation on the Internet in Germany will be analyzed by statistical means and on the basis of survey data, comparing two groups: Germans (the majority group) and a minority group, consisting of young people from Turkey and various Arab countries, who share a religious affiliation. The young people from a Turkish or Arab background turned out to be particularly politically active online and offline, despite being rather socioeconomically disadvantaged. Statistical models presented in this paper show that this is probably related to their grievances caused by discrimination experiences because of their religion. Generally, the results suggest that disadvantaged minority groups may appropriate the Internet in order to raise their voice, although with some constraints.