The Ethnic Participation Gap: Comparing Second Generation Russian Youth and Estonian Youth

The political and civic participation of citizens is essential for "making democracy work". The nationalizing approach to state-building adopted by Estonia in the early 1990s limited the political participation of its large Russian-speaking minorities. Democratic nation-building, the approach favoured by European institutions, requires that states provide minorities with opportunities to participate in socio-political structures and to maintain and develop their culture. While Estonia made significant reforms during the EU accession process, barriers to minority participation remain. Through a quantitative analysis of 'The Integration of the European Second Generation' (TIES) survey, this article compares the political and civic participation of second generation Russian youth with Estonian youth, and explores the factors that influence participation both within and across groups. Education level is strongly associated with the likelihood of participation for both groups; however, income is significant only for ethnic Estonians. Among Russian respondents, Estonian language skills are positively associated with civic participation, and Estonian citizenship with the likelihood of voting. Ethnicity remains a significant predictor of political and civic participation when controlling for socioeconomic and demographic variables. Estonians are more likely to vote in municipal elections and to participate in voluntary associations than Russians. Low levels of civic participation among both Estonian and Russian youth, as well as the existence of an ethnic participation gap, may undermine Estonian democracy.Keywords: political participation; civil society; democracy; minority integration; Russian minority; EstoniaThe scholarly literature defines democracy in numerous ways. Definitions range from minimalist versions that focus on free, fair and regular elections (Schumpeter, 1947; Huntington, 1991), to maximalist versions that add a variety of qualitative requirements. These include the protection of civil rights and liberties, minority rights, equal access to information and education, contestation among multiple candidates or parties, and a degree of government autonomy, to name just a few (See Bollen, 1993; Lijphart, 1999; Rueschemeyer et al., 1996; Schmitter and Karl, 1991). There is very little agreement over necessary attributes, the thresholds for various rights (See Lijphart, 1999; Diamond, 2008: 22), or even procedural minimums, such as what constitutes adequate participation (Bollen, 1993: 1209-1210). However, what these definitions share is an emphasis on citizen participation as the fundamental feature of democracy.Political engagement is essential for articulating demands to the state, for establishing the credibility of institutions (Letki, 2004: 665 citing Putnam, 2000: 338), and for reinforcing democratic attitudes (Tusalem, 2007). Declining political and civic participation in both Western and Eastern European democracies (Barnes, 2006; Howard, 2003; Kitschelt and Smyth, 2000; Kitschelt et al., 1999; Putnam, 2002; Rueschmeyer, 1998) and the existence of a participation gap between natives and minorities in several European countries (van Londen et al., 2007), raise questions about the quality and vitality of democracy in the region. In particular, post-communist Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEECs) have been slow to develop participatory cultures as a result of communist legacies (Howard, 2003). In addition, nationalizing policies adopted in the early 1990s effectively limited the political participation of minorities in these societies (Brubaker, 1996: 63-66).Estonia is an interesting case for examining political and civic participation. While Estonia leads other post-communist countries with respect to voter turnout and social capital, it is typically characterized as having an underdeveloped civil society and a large ethnic participation gap (Evans and Lipsmeyer, 2001; Kallas, 2008a; Ministry of Culture, 2011; Pettai et al. …