Belonging and Political Participation: Evidence from Kyrgyz Presidential Elections

• In Event: 594 - Section on Political Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 19. Political Participation

Abstract

Theories of political participation suggest that social inclusion may affect individual interest in politics and voter turnout in a variety of ways, either increasing or decreasing the odds of political engagement and participation. While many theoretical mechanisms of the effects have been laid out, a conceptual model that would link political participation and social embeddedness is yet to emerge. In this paper we examine three distinct aspects of social inclusion and explore their effects on political interest and voter turnout. We distinguish between local embeddness, national belonging, and international inclusion that view them as a reflection of individual belonging to their country - a latent factor that affects willingness to participate in the political life and predicts voter turnout. We use nationally representative survey data collected after the latest presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan, a post-Soviet economy in transition in Central Asia. The results point at the importance of local embeddedness for voter turnout in national elections, distinct differentials in political interest across ethnic divides, and gender patterns of political participation with a particularly important role of local social networks for women.

Author

• Evgenia Gorina, University of Texas-Dallas