Original scientific paper

Youth and Human Rights In Croatia

Branislava Baranović ; Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia
Vlasta Ilišin ; Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

This paper analyzes certain dimensions of the relation of Croatian
youth towards human rights. The analysis is based on the results of an empirical research conducted in 1999 on a representative sample
of 1700 young people, aged 15 to 29, from the entire Croatian territory. The results point to the fact that human rights and freedoms
represent a very significant social value for the greater part of the
young. When looking at the realization of human rights and freedoms
as a political goal, the support of the youth is twice smaller, which is
partially the effect of the pressure caused by same other great problems, the solution of which is of a higher priority. The greatest
dissent was registered in regards of the perception of the respect for
human rights and freedoms in Croatia, because the young people had
evenly split into the satisfied and the dissatisfied, with a quarter of those which can not evaluate the status of human rights in our country. Finally, the young estimate that the contribution of the observed institutions of government and civil society organizations to
the realization of human rights is relatively satisfactory. The obtained
point to the dominant influence of political orientation (mediated through party preference) on the formation of the young people's attitudes toward human rights and freedoms. At that, there are two clearly defined subgroups of youth: on the one side, there are the
supporters of the socio-democratic and liberal parties, mostly from
higher social background, which were more critically disposed toward
the realization of human rights in Croatia and addressed the responsibility for that conditions to the institutions of government
(perceiving, at the same time, the positive contribution of the civil society-opposition sector), on the other side, there are the sympathizers of right-wing political parties, coming most often from
lower social background, which were mostly satisfied by the respect
for human rights and, at the same time, thought the contribution of the institutions of government has been positive.

Keywords

young people; human rights and freedoms; political culture; democratic political and social order; political orientation; Croatia

Hrčak ID:

34358

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/34358

Publication date:

23.3.2009.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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