Factors impacting the political choices of young people in Niger Republic (The case of Zinder)

This thesis aims to empirically examine the factors influencing the political choices, socialization and engagement of young people in Zinder, Niger Republic. These factors included social, economic, ideological, media, family, tribal and nativeship factors. The main goal of the study is to reveal how these different factors influence the political behavior of young people in the city of Zinder. Qualitative method was used to carry out this study. Firstly, key actors who could provide insights in the research were approached. In this context, semi structured interviews, focus groups, direct observations, case studies and desk research were used to collect data. Six categories of key actors were identified. These are youth engaged in politics, youth not engaged in politics, media actors, civil society actors, political analysts or experts, and traditional and religious leaders. Research participants were selected or identified on the basis of their knowledge, experience and familiarity with the topic. As a framework of analysis, three explanatory models of electoral choice, namely the psycho-sociological model, the sociological model and the economic model, were applied. Anthony Giddens' structuration theory was then chosen to analyze the phenomenon studied. Data processing included qualitative content analysis (Leray, 2008; Sallan Gül and Kahya Nizam, 2021). Moreover, three main aspects were analyzed in this study: the issue of political choice, the issue of political socialization and the issue of political engagement. The results obtained within the framework of the study showed that the factors affecting the political choices, engagement and socialization of young people are multidimensional. Furthermore, depending on the issues in the period in question, their personal interest foci, the periods in which they live and the type of relations young people have with political leaders, some factors are more influential than others. By analyzing the trajectories of young people engaged in politics, steps that need to be taken and the main challenges they face have been identified. In short, there are various reasons why young people participate in politics. The first target of to the people was finding a job so that many of them engaged in politics to meet their basic needs. Moreover, engagement in politics includes the search for a political mentor (facilitator, adviser, counsellor, spokesperson) or 'ubangida' (in Hausa) who plays a role of a bridge between the young persons engaged in politics and the decision-makers of the parties. Also, the political tutor plays the role of financier for young politicians. In addition, most of common perceptions of the politics among young people is based on self- interest.