It’s not just about jobs

The significance of employment quality for participation in political violence and protests in selected Arab Mediterranean countries

Bibliographic Data

ID10152364
AuthorsKari Paasonen (0000-0003-4031-3899, Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI), University of Tampere, Finland, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume62
Issue4
Pages912-927
Publication date2024-10-11
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Peace Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00223433241261551
OpenAlexW4403344018
LanguageEN
References cited19

It is often proposed that the young unemployed are more likely to engage in political violence, conflicts, and protests. One problem in studying the unemployed – especially in the Global South – are the blurred lines between the unemployed, the employed, and those working in the informal sector. Further, the employed are a heterogeneous group so employment quality might also play an important role. To tackle these issues, this study uses a new quantitative dataset, which covers youth in five Middle Eastern and North African countries: Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. These data provide considerably more fine-grained information about the employment situations of the respondents than the datasets previously used. The study investigates separately two forms of political participation: in political violence and in demonstrations. The regression analyses show that there is no clear difference between the young unemployed and the young employed in their likelihood to participate in the studied political activities. However, some features related to employment matter. Those whose employment status is ambiguous are substantially more likely to participate in demonstrations and political violence than the employed. Among those who work, those who are dissatisfied with their work and those who work fewer hours participate more often in these activities. Income on its own does not seem to have an effect; however, those who have more assets are more likely to participate, and compared to those who feel themselves middle income, those feeling rich or poor are more likely to engage in political violence and demonstrations. The results suggest that instead of thinking in terms of a dichotomy of the employed and unemployed, more emphasis should be placed on understanding the variety of employment situations and employment quality and their impact on political instability

Computer security · Environmental health · Geography · Mediterranean climate · Occupational safety and health · Poison control · Political science · Politics · Quality (philosophy · Computer Science · Employment and Welfare Studies · Engineering · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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