The Politicisation of Youth Issues in Party Programmes: Symbolic Rhetoric or Policy Priority? The Case of Georgia as a Transitional Democracy
The Politicisation of Youth Issues in Party Programmes: Symbolic Rhetoric or Policy Priority? The Case of Georgia as a Transitional Democracy

Summary/Abstract: This article analyses how Georgian political parties have addressed youth issues in their election programmes since 2008 and how their perspectives on these issues have evolved over successive election cycles. In particular, it examines whether this focus reflects genuine party policy or is merely an electoral strategy. Using the 2024 parliamentary elections as the central case study and analysing comparative data from the 2008-2024 electoral periods, the study draws on rational choice theory (Shepsle & Bonchek, 2010) and the concept of symbolic politics (Edelman, 1985) as part of a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative content analysis with qualitative discourse analysis. The results show that the parties focus on youth issues only during elections and do not make them long-term priorities. Consequently, the stated commitments to youth policy go beyond their actual implementation. The analysis also places these patterns within the broader ideological context of the parties and shows that the politicisation of youth issues is shaped not only by the electoral calendar but also by the parties’ underlying ideological orientation. The Georgian case follows a more general pattern that can also be observed in other transition democracies. By providing valuable new data, this study will contribute to the literature on party programmes and youth policy in the post-Soviet context.

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