Anar Musabaeva: “Kyrgyz politicians take advantage of activism of the young”

 20.10.2011

 “Adult politicians” perceive the youth as a “useful” resource in the struggle against their opponents, or in best case, as their followers, who are ready to promote the ideas of politicians, although these ideas can be absolutely absurd”, noted Anar Musabaeva, a political analyst, in her article written exclusively for the Institute for Public Policy.

Conflicts are inherent in human society, and we get involved in various conflicts throughout our lives, from funny to very serious conflicts, and each conflict has its consequences for our lives. Conflicts “exist” inside everyone, and sometimes we cannot make right decisions. Conflicts are connected not only with individuals or relationships between individuals, but also can emerge between rules, formal or informal, which exist in a society.

The conflict potential of youth is a huge topic, associated with many specific features of youth as a social-demographic group. This topic is very important in Kyrgyzstan, because its population is young, and our society is in a state of permanent crisis. It survived during serious perturbations in its recent history.

What do the young want? Which values do they share? What do they care about? These questions have always been topical in any society. These questions combine the hope, the fear and even the jealousy that “future belongs to the young”. But during some emergent events, during social and political perturbations, the youth begin to manifest themselves, and the society begins to quickly look for answers to these questions. And if the society cannot find answers to these complicated questions, it cannot find the true reasons behind many social events and begins to “superficially treat” the symptoms.

A particular feature of the situation in Kyrgyzstan today is that all the processes connected with social self-identification and the choice of individual ways of life are going on against a background of uncertainty and a crisis of social-cultural identity. The complicated transition period engenders a poorly formed value system among the young, which, in its turn, affects the behavior of the young in various fields of life, including the political one.

The problems of youth are often discussed in our country, but in reality, there is not an effective youth policy. Various initiatives of the state and politicians aimed at youth problems are nothing but a tribute to fashion and political conjuncture. Unfortunately, we must admit that we know too little about our youth and its problems. In order to evaluate the conflict potential of youth and resolve conflicts, we must understand who the youth are, what problems they have, what the reasons for conflict are, and then we can teach them how to prevent conflicts and peacefully resolve them.

What are the main problems of the youth?

Having read various youth policy documents of the UN, one can distinguish the following problems:

-          Education

-          Employment

-          Starvation and poverty

-          Health problems

-          Drugs

-          Juvenile delinquency

-           Leisure time

-          Gender problems

-          Participation in decision-making processes and political-social life

-          Conflicts between generations

-          Conflicts between various youth groups

-          Participation of the youth in armed conflicts

-          Radicalism and extremism among the young

These problems exist in almost any country, any society. The extent of their seriousness and relevance, as well as society’s perception of them, depend heavily on the context and various factors existing in each country.

Each of the above mentioned problems contains conflict-causing factors of various levels. Unfortunately, all these problems exist in Kyrgyzstan; therefore, they can be considered sources of potential conflicts. Each problem can cause various conflicts, which have different roots. Since the limited scope of this article does not allow discussion of all youth conflicts, I would concentrate on the most important ones.

An important aspect of the analysis of conflict potential among youth is problems of psychosocial development.

There are certain cultural norms in any society, and they create certain conditions for psychosocial development, and it can be different from biological development. For example, many adults have social infantilism and irresponsible behavior. Education systems at schools or universities influence the process of psychosocial development of young people. Changes in value orientations, due to quick social transformations, lead to conflict between generations, when “parents” and “children” do not share similar values. It is a source of adolescent “rebellion”, “opposition” toward the older generation, etc. Youth subcultures serve as an indicator of the growing distance between the values of “adults” and the youth. Sometimes these subcultures are more connected with external attributes, but very often they are accompanied by strategies of “leaving the unfair society” in the form of drug-abuse, aggressive behavior, cynicism and adolescent narcissism.

Very few people in Kyrgyzstan are worried by the problem of child alcoholism, which is growing. And there are more and more children addicted to alcohol. And child alcoholism leads to other problems – health of the nation, its genetic resources, child delinquency and various forms of deviant behavior.

Another way of “leaving the unfair society” is to join a religious group, or a pseudo-religious group, thus young people become victims of extremist groups. And this, in its turn, leads to emergence of new and exacerbation of old conflicts – between followers of different faiths, between citizens and the law, between supporters of secular state and its opponents.

Any society has its elements that impede the process of “growing up”. In Kyrgyzstan, these are, first of all, social and economic problems – poverty, lack of proper accommodation facilities, lack of access to education and social services. Long dependence on parents and lack of employment opportunities really hamper the process of growing up. Dependency mentality and marriage at older ages prove it. It is no secret that many conflicts emerge in families where young members do not work, and live on the pensions of their parents or grandparents. The gap between biological and social ages leads to conflict between generations, when young people begin to protest against traditions and norms imposed by parents.

Lack of opportunities for full participation of the young in political and social life is a factor which prolongs the process of growing up, on the one hand, and contributes to development of anti-social forms of behavior on the other.

There are other factors connected with issues of individual self-identification of the youth, individual competency in inter-personal communication, etc. And all such factors can cause conflicts.

In addition to family, school is also an important institute of socialization; it affects the life of a young person, and it is the basic mechanism for transferring values and learning the skills of inter-personal communication.

School in Kyrgyzstan is a source of many conflicts. First of all, they are connected with academic progress of students, problems of personal autonomy and school authorities. School conflicts happen between students of the same age, between seniors and juniors, between teachers and students. It is connected not only with psychological characteristics of schoolchildren but also with social and economic problems of the society. Social stratification is reflected in the varied economic status of schoolchildren, as they belong to different social groups. Different opportunities to buy fashionable clothes, accessories, for example, can cause problems of a psychological nature.

The youth in Kyrgyzstan is trying to adjust itself to the world of adults, and this often leads to deviant behavior. For example, double standards in relationships between teachers and school-students and the gap between the values that teachers try to teach and their real behavioral practices can cause serious conflicts.

School racketeering, which is a mini-model of “power-subordination” relationships existing in the society, is also a very serious source of conflict. Sadly, cases of school racketeering are becoming more and more aggressive and violent; there have been even tragic cases.

Conflicts connected with competition between adolescents and struggle for leadership also contribute to conflict potential inside educational institutions.

Another important source of conflict among the young is politics and political life.

In Kyrgyzstan, youth participation in political life is very specific. The youth in Kyrgyzstan are too politicized and have huge protest potential, unlike in many other countries.

However, despite the fact that we had two revolutions, the youth are still an object of politics, not its subject. The olitical behavior of youth in Kyrgyzstan can be characterized by spontaneous political choice and preferences, political pragmatism, legal and political nihilism. Existing youth associations and organizations are not ready for large-scale organized actions, and the forms of political self-organization of some youth groups have extremist traits, which can be explained by the accumulated aggression potential. This is also determined by the lack of opportunities for realization of rights and interests through legal means.

The crisis of social-cultural identity caused by the socialist system, which stimulated the state-centrist behavior of young people, found its reflection in changes in political behavior of the young, which can be characterized as political pragmatism. The young look for the access to big politics, in order to use mechanisms of power for their personal benefit.

Some young people, who try to self-organize, often fall under the control of the existing political elites that actively manipulate the youth, in order to further their own interests. And that's why young people cannot become independent. In addition, many young people are disappointed with politics and refuse to participate in political processes.

“Adult politicians” perceive the youth as a “useful” resource in the struggle against their opponents, or in best case, as their followers, who are ready to promote the ideas of politicians, although these ideas can be absolutely absurd. There are no political forces in the country today which would mobilize youth potential for the benefit of the state.

Kyrgyz politicians take advantage of activism of the youth, creating images which seem quite rational. For example, from time to time politicians build an image of the youth as a bearer of patriotism and heroism, the hope of the country. It is pure manipulation.

Experienced politicians use psychological traits of the youth, for instance, the inclination toward risk, gullibility, dissatisfaction with life and social injustice, in order to mobilize the youth to participate in street protests and inter-religious and inter-ethnic conflicts.

The marginal situation of the youth in politics, along with social-economic problems and high level of criminalization of the society, push them into alternative niches – radicalism, extremism and terrorism.

Legal chaos that exists in our society, corruption in state structure, low level of confidence in the bodies of government, as well as the low level of legitimacy of government, will only contribute to further marginalization of youth groups, prone to destructive forms of behavior and supporting illegitimate forms of political behavior.

The idea of institutionalizing  people’s squads (drujinniki), promoted by some politicians, is dangerous. Drujinniki became especially popular after the events in 2010. Suggestions to give drujinniki certain powers, similar to those ones of law enforcement bodies, to give them guns and material stimuli reflect the interests of a certain part of the youth (and not only the youth). But it is important to understand that creation of such a structure is an indicator of the fact that formal institutions, including law enforcement bodies, do not perform their duties properly, or the population no longer recognizes them as legitimate. Taking into account the problem of weak manageability and low confidence in state institutions and the judicial system, this parallel institutional initiative entails the risk of new conflicts and undesirable transformation of people’s squads into “shadow” structures.

The current election campaign of presidential candidates who promise to give better lives to citizens, including to young people, can contribute to a deeper crisis of confidence in power and public rhetoric of politicians.

Inter-ethnic relations is another important source of conflict, especially if we take into account the tragic events in the south of the country in June 2010. It depends on political, economic and cultural-historical factors.

The ethnic self-consciousness of the youth already has conflict potential. Ethnic stereotypes, values, and differences in ways of life among representatives of different ethnic groups are potential sources of tension.

Social inequality, sharp stratification of the society, unemployment and poverty, the gap between the level of income and the level of professionalism, discrimination in the field of labor relationships, increasing economic and social risks, personal insecurity – all of these factors can contribute to the formation of the feeling of social, political and economic deprivation among young people from different groups. And this again creates favorable conditions for a new conflict. If such a conflict-threatening situation is used by politicians, the young are especially quick to support the ideas of chauvinism and national extremism.

Another source of conflict among the young in Kyrgyzstan is internal migration and economic inequality among various regions of the country.

Internal migration in Kyrgyzstan is mainly from the south to the north, from villages to cities, from distant regions to economically stable regions. Engines of internal migration are unemployment, the low attractiveness of agricultural labor, and scarcity of lands, especially in the south. As the majority of migrants consists of rural citizens of working age, internal migration creates asymmetry in the demographic structure of the population in cities and villages. For example, there are more young people in cities, at the same time villages are full of old people. The huge number of young people in cities creates a great burden for city social and economic infrastructure, prices for apartments are growing, demand for various social services is growing, schools are overloaded and there is tension in city labor markets. Many internal migrants face the problems of poverty, unemployment and lack of accommodation. Examples of the negative impact of dense population in cities due to internal migration are land seizures around Bishkek and Osh, increasing number of marginalized young people and children, who have no education and no job prospects, no houses and no hope for receiving social services. Marginalized youth can be involved in various radical religious, criminal and extremist groups.

Inequality in economic opportunities and difference in development between cities and villages led to the formation of the hostile psychology of rural young people toward citizens who live in cities. This was manifested in looting during “revolutions of 2005 and 2010, as a result of which not only big businessmen but also small businessmen and common city citizens suffered great losses. On the other hand, it is important to note that for several years, society has been using the term “the working poor” when speaking of the poor in cities. “The working poor” include young teachers, doctors and other medical employees, and employees in the field of culture whose income is too low and cannot meet even basic needs. Economic inequality between cities and villages, between regions and even between municipalities causes not only internal migration but also social discontent and a hostile attitude toward other groups of the population, as well as social conflicts.

What should be done about the conflict potential of youth?

Politicians that manipulate the youth know the answer to this question. They learned how to use the protest potential of youth in order to achieve their own selfish political aims and to use it against their political opponents. However, I would like to warn such politicians: their own “gun” can work against themselves one day.

As for the people who are seriously concerned about the problem of conflicts and conflict potential of the youth, they should, first of all, understand who the youth are, and understand the nature of conflicts where youth are an active participant.

This article was about only one part of the conflict potential of youth, which was connected with important problems of the youth social-demographic group. Each of the above discussed fields has its own conflicts with their own reasons. But we must not forget that the various conflicts in which youth participate must be considered as a whole. The nature of the conflicts requires systemic reforms and deep transformations in all fields of society’s life that concern the interests of the younger generation.

Methods of conflict prevention should include various strategies in the field of economic opportunities for the young, chances to fully participate in social and political life, strengthening the rule of law, socialization of the youth in families and schools, better access of the youth to social services, teaching them to respect human rights and to use the skills of conflict prevention and resolution, and development of social mediation.

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