Vlasta Ilišin: Young People Believe That Political Affiliation Is Just as Important Today as It Was During Socialism

Political scientist Vlasta Ilišin has dedicated her entire academic career – mostly within the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb – to studying the young generation, and not just one. She began in the early 1980s by studying her peers, the baby boomers, and has now encountered the current girls and boys, members of Generation Z. We spoke with her about what has changed in those 45 years and what young people are like today in terms of their inclusion in the world of work, society, and political life.

– Every generation grows up in a somewhat different social environment. And that is something that then influences the existence of certain characteristics that can always be attributed to young people as a social group, while on the other hand, there are features that indicate the emergence of new, different generations.

What do you mean?

– Well, for example, in relation to older generations, there is inexperience. That is why it is difficult for them to make decisions about a number of socially relevant, and sometimes personal, issues. There is also impatience – they want it now and they want it immediately, along with optimism, which is always more pronounced among young people than among older ones.

But in recent years, they find that optimism in Ireland and Germany.

– Exactly. What is characteristic of young people is that personal optimism is always greater than social optimism. So, that is also the decision to go to Ireland. Young people are less optimistic when it comes to Croatian society, but they are much more optimistic when it comes to themselves. It’s as if they are saying: ‘Yes, things are not good here, but I am young enough, vital, and capable of securing a better future for myself.’ For older people, it is the opposite. Their personal optimism is somewhat lower than social optimism, and the older they get, the greater the difference. Optimism and pessimism rise and fall simultaneously among both young and older people. The direction is the same, but the numbers are different.

One of the main reasons for leaving Croatia is the problem of career advancement. Young people leave with the statement: ‘I cannot achieve anything decent here next to all the nepotism.’ Is that just an impression, and how can it be changed?

– That is partly an impression, because there is nepotism abroad as well, but there the labor market is more developed, so it is easier to find a job, and then that nepotism hurts less. It is not just a matter of bread but of better bread.

But nepotism is logical in the private sector and family business. Here, it has flared up in the public and state sectors.

– Well, that is something we inherited from socialism, and we have not moved an inch. Since the 1980s, we have regularly asked young people what is most important for advancement in Croatian society. At the top of the list were connections and acquaintances. Today, at the top of the list are – connections and acquaintances.

So, connections and acquaintances were once and still are ahead of political affiliation?

– Those connections and acquaintances also imply political connections. And political affiliation itself is somewhere in the middle of that list. However, respondents assess that political affiliation is just as important today as it was during socialism. So much for democracy. We clearly do not know how to function in any other way. Regardless, the fact is that political affiliation is considered important and falls into the group with nepotism and clientelism. In a study conducted a few years ago in about ten countries, Croatia ranked first in the perception that connections and acquaintances are important, especially in healthcare and employment. But Slovenians and Montenegrins think similarly.

You can read the complete interview in the new digital and printed edition of Lider.