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Sustainable democracy in Southeast Europe is closely tied to the level of political engagement among young people aged 14–29. In this study, we examine how different media outlets influence political participation and interest among this population. We employ survey data collected from 10 Southeast European countries to explore this relationship. Our research shows that, except for television viewing, all information sources positively impact young people’s interest in politics and inclination to participate. Digital media exerts the strongest influence, while political discussions also prove to be significant. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the effect of media sources on political engagement is more pronounced among older respondents, suggesting an age-related moderation within this population. We also observe that the quality of national media sectors, including their commitment to safeguarding freedom of expression and competitiveness, does not significantly influence the relationship between media and political involvement. We conclude that media plays a crucial role in fostering political engagement among youths in Southeast Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colleges and universities are increasingly intentional about meeting well-articulated and consistent general education goals and documenting substantive learning outcomes. Institutional imperatives to document the successful teaching of essential knowledge and skill sets frequently fall to faculty and departments, posing new challenges in an environment of time and resource constraints. A capstone course is an increasingly common method to measure student learning and assess programmatic and institutional success. We provide concrete suggestions to design a capstone course and assess student learning outcomes. After describing the structure of the course and four innovative assignments, we present the results of assessment conducted through the capstone. We further the conversation on the development of best practices and how political science departments can align institutional and programmatic goals and lead the way in university assessment.

A growing body of evidence suggests there is a positive relationship between social capital and economic development. Elements of social capital, such as generalized trust, provide a basis for reciprocity necessary for a market-based economic system. In this article, we evaluate components of social capital and other political culture attributes among Romanian migrant workers who have returned to their country, as well as labor migrant household members. Using pooled data from an eight-year period, we find that migrant workers and members of their households tend to have less pro-democratic values than the general population although they tend to be more participatory citizens. The exception to this is among émigrés who returned in the 1990's suggesting that negative attitudes turn positive after resettlement in the community. We conclude that returning migrants do not offer a significant source of social capital to Romania. The finding tempers those who optimistically await the return of the many Romanian migrants. However, the long-term impact of returning migrants might show more desirable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we evaluate the relationship between left-right orientations and voting preferences through analyzing voter behavior in 24 countries, by using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems. We first evaluate the propensity for individuals to place themselves on a left-right scale as individual recognition of political space. We then estimate the strength of certain social characteristics and attitudes that correlate with use of the left-right schema as a form of ideological identification, as well as the relative strength of the left-right schema as an indicator of voter choice. In the final section, we consider macro-level factors that influence the variance found in ideological voting across cases. One of the main findings of the article is that in countries that had greater income disparity, we are more likely to observe ideological voting. The finding points to the importance that the left-right scale plays in structuring social conflict in the more traditional sense along class lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article regarding the assessment of issues on political science, which was discussed during the sixth annual Teaching and Learning Conference (TLC) held in Baltimore, Maryland on February 6-8, 2009, is presented.