Why do people disengage from politics? It’s a lack of readiness, not passion

What is it about?

Political polarisation has been rife in recent years, and many fear that it is making it harder for societies to discuss important but controversial matters with people of different beliefs. In such a context, some segments of society, such as migrants, tend to ‘disengage’ from politics. We conducted a survey of the Korean-born population in Australia and detected such a strain of disengagement among these citizens and would-be citizens, but we attribute it not to apathy (a lack of interest in politics or concern about political issues), but rather a lack of readiness to be fully engaged. The survey found that this disengagement stemmed from a distrust of and distaste for the political class, coupled with linguistic barriers, prevented Koreans in Australia from becoming more involved in discussions and activities related to politics. We draw two optimistic conclusions from this study: even people who are disappointed with the performance of the political system can be deeply interested in what it can achieve, but disappointment suggests that people want to be more involved, not less, in the life of their society.

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Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash

Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash