Resume
The Inclination of First-time Voters to the Far Right and the Degree of Their Anomie and Social Distance: A Sociological Probe Among Secondary School Students in Karviná
PhDr. Ondřej Moński, Customs Administration of the Czech Republic, General Directorate of Customs, Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague, Faculty of Security Management, Department of Security Studies
Abstract
The article analyses the phenomenon of the inclination of first-time voters to supporting far-right subjects on the example of the statutory city of Karviná and the degree of their anomie and social distance against the background of the broader trend of the inclination of young voters to far-right subjects in European countries in the past decade. For its findings, it uses the empirical method of questionnaire survey. The city of Karviná was chosen as a typical example of a settlement suffering from structural socio-economic problems such as high unemployment, high crime rates, and a polluted environment. In such conditions, higher levels of anomie and social distance are usually measured. These aspects in turn contribute to a higher propensity of voters towards radical political currents. The popularity of far-right political parties is on the rise in a number of EU Member States, and this popularity is materialised in the increasingly high electoral gains of these political parties. Young voters, including first-time voters, play an important role in this process, and in some types of elections in European countries, far-right parties have been the most successful among young voters in the recent past. In the Czech Republic, there has not yet been such a significant consolidation of right-wing populist currents as in most Western European countries, but in the context of the current dynamic international political situation and in combination with a stagnant economy, there is potential for the rise of radical political forces.
Keywords: extremism, radicalism, far right, youth, anomie, social distance.