Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.20901/pp.15.2.02
Comparative analysis of political interest and attitudes of students from University of Mostar and University of Johannes Kepler from Linz
Damirka Mihaljević
orcid.org/0000-0001-5099-8284
; University of Mostar, The Faculty of Philosophy
*
Matea Milićević
; osip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Economics and Business
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The topic of this paper is students’ political interest, specifically how and to what extent they engage with politics and political action in society, and how students in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Austria differ in this regard. The political potential of students in B&H and Austria is examined through the theoretical framework of choice as a relational construct, which explains how the interaction between individual factors and political circumstances shapes patterns of political engagement. To this end, a survey was conducted with a total of 749 respondents, of whom 524 were Austrian students from Johannes Kepler University (JKU) and 185 were students from the University of Mostar (SUM). A quantitative analysis of the results shows that Austrian students demonstrate a higher level of political involvement and greater trust in democratic institutions compared to students in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These differences suggest that students’ democratic potential is influenced not only by their personal
attitudes but also by the social environment in which they live. The higher democratic potential of Austrian students reflects an environment that supports the stable and functional operation of democracy.
Keywords
students; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Austria; political interest; political participation
Hrčak ID:
342804
URI
Publication date:
30.12.2025.
Visits: 543 *