Lever demokratin där du bor? : En regressionsanalys i hur civilsamhället modererar sambandet mellan boendeortoch demokratiskt deltagande

Sammanfattning

This study aims to analyse the relationship between residential area, civil society engagement, and democratic participation in Sweden. By analysing whether democratic participation differs depending on where individuals live and whether engagement in civil society can influence this relationship. The study is based on centre periphery theory, social capital theory and the Civic Voluntarism Model (CVM), which together help explain how geographical conditions, social networks, and socioeconomic resources may affect democratic participation. The study applies a quantitative method using secondary data from the SOM Survey 2022. The material is analysed through regression analysis in IBM SPSS Statistics. Democratic participation is measured through an index consisting of political discussions, voting behaviour, participation in demonstrations, and political membership. Civil society engagement is measured through membership in organisations.The results show that individuals who are members of associations tend to demonstrate higher levels of democratic participation than non-members. However, the study finds limited support for the hypothesis that civil society engagement reduces differences in democratic participation between different residential areas. Although respondents living in rural areas initially showed lower democratic participation, the relationship disappeared when control variables were included. This suggests that socioeconomic factors may have a greater effect than geographical location itself.