Authors

Discussion

The pertinence of the left-right spectrum for mapping the political space has been questioned on numerous occasions given the profound shifts in party structures and politico-ideological discourse across the globe. Nevertheless, for the analysis of advanced Western democracies scholars tend to confirm that the left-right dimension remains helpful for understanding many of the latent political conflicts. However, it is more debatable whether the left-right spectrum has much salience outside of the very specific context of these countries beyond the discourse Western agents produce when speaking about post-Soviet and other societies. Our paper investigates the politico-ideological space that young citizens of the three South Caucasian countries articulate to contribute to a bottom-up perspective on the structure of the political landscape that resonates with local discursive dynamics. We draw on a unique combination of quantitative and qualitative data, notably focus group discussions and a nationally representative survey conducted across Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia among young respondents. We argue that young people’s understanding of politics might not fit the Western left-right schema, but that their political and social ideals can instead be heuristically articulated in a two-dimensional space that complements the left-right dimension with a perspective on individualism and collectivism.