The contributions of new media to young people's political participation in Russia and Kazakhstan

How do new media contribute to political participation among young people? Several studies have dealt with this question; however, the question remains an understudied area in the former Soviet Union. Drawing on data collected during one year of fieldwork that included online surveys, interviews and focus groups with young people in both Russia and Kazakhstan, this study demonstrates that new media contribute to both on- and offline political participation in Russia and Kazakhstan among young people through: awareness as a prerequisite for political participation; communication; interaction; advocacy as political participation; mobilization; organizing; coordination; and hype-ization. In so doing, it offers a theoretical model that explains how new media contribute to young people's political participation in Russia and Kazakhstan, providing an in-depth account from two post-Communist cases which can contribute to cross-national comparative studies in non-competitive statist political systems.