The largest proportion of young people in the Republic of Macedonia(42%) consider that they have average living conditions, while 29% of them consider that their living conditions are good. These numbers, in a sense, indicate the real perception of the young people in Macedonia, and so a defeatist rhetoric and negative presentation of their living conditions could not be observed. Although relatively high, the percentages given for young people who believe they live in bad(18.4%), and very bad (4%) conditions, illustrate the actual situation in the country. Research shows a correlation between the quality of living conditions and the educational level of the respondents, so a higher percentage of those young people who have completed higher education consider that they have good living conditions. Also, young Albanians have significantly higher positive perceptions for their own living conditions than those of the same age belonging to the Macedonian ethnic group. So, 13.8% of the Albanians(as opposed to only 3.6% of the Macedonians) consider that they live in very good living conditions, and additional 42.8% of the Albanians(as opposed to 24.8% of the Macedonians) consider that their living conditions are good. On the other hand, 20% of the young Macedonians consider that their living conditions are bad. That perceptions were similar regardless of where the respondents lived is revealing. Though a general perception exists of a lower quality of life in the rural environments and smaller towns, the attitudes of young people coming from these environments suggest otherwise. Anticipation of a better future and a better quality of life is a relatively common theme among young people, whereby 55% of the young generation expect improvements in their living conditions. Of these, 13.2% of the young people expect much-improved living conditions, while 41.7% expect their living conditions to be improved to some degree. Bearing in mind that only 5.6% of them anticipate a worsening of their conditions, it is valid to say that there is a lack of emphatic scepticism among the youth as regards their own future. However, if the expectations are compared with the actual living conditions of the respondents, it could be pointed out that many of the young people who live in good or average conditions have a positive outlook for the future. 1 In contrast, only 20% of the respondents who consider themselves to live in bad conditions expect some improvement. The degree of political, economic, and civil participation of the Macedonian young population reveals a worrisome lethargy. A large 64.2% of the respondents do not participate in any organizational model, whereas only 2% of the youth is part of some professional organization. The data, which indicates that only 15% of the young people are members of political parties, and only 8% of them are members of nongovernmental organizations, points out the rudimentary position of the civil sector in Macedonia. In addition, only 6% of the young people are active in sports. At the same time, in most of the categories, the lowest degree of participation is found among the young people living in Skopje. The low degree of youth participation in political parties is characteristic of the other Balkan countries as well. For example, in Bosnia and Herzegovina(B&H), only 8% of the young people are members of some political party. 2 _____________________________________________________________ However, if this data is compared with the stated interests of the young people, actual opposite proportional tendencies are seen, and the lack of active participation becomes even more apparent. Thus, while 23.2% of the young people indicate an interest in entertainment and sports(each), only 6% participate in sporting activities. A great disparity, which signals a lack of possibilities, is also present in the areas of economic issues and business, where 19.7% indicate an interest but only 2% of the young people participate. Finally, it could be said that the young population is relatively uninterested in politics, bearing in mind that only 7% of the youth indicate an interest in politics – far lower than the 15% who are members of political parties. This highlights the weak activity of the young people within the political parties, which really do not have any aspirations to involve their membership in a more serious political engagement. In consolation, the situation is similar in the other Balkan countries. Some research shows that only one third of the young people in B&H vote during the elections, while only 3% of them are members of juridical bodies, in Bulgaria about 50% of the young people consider abstaining from voting in elections, and in Albania less than 1% of the youth consider that politics has an influence on their lives. 3 Perceptions of the Public Institutions and International Organizations The respondents' views in this study regarding trust in international and public policy institutions fall within the boundaries of previously noted tendencies, but this study's data differs slightly regarding trust in private institutions and organizations with wider social character. The tendencies are clearly visible in the first graph given below. Of interest is the finding that the greatest percentage of trust among the young people belongs to the banks. Banks are symbols of financial power and the possibilities of handling capital. Like private companies, but even more so, banks represent a symbol of the market society. The fact that young people have greater confidence in the symbols of the private sector means that they are, to a great extent, market-oriented and that they don't have great expectations from the state. Their discontent with the public institutions is supplemented by greater trust in the international institutions, which could result in greater support for the Euro-Atlantic integration processes, but which could also be a motive to emigrate from Macedonia. Although it might be expected that the local governments enjoy a greater level of trust when compared to other institutions, a fact that is explained by benevolence, as well as by the citizens' lack of information about their local governments, 4 the fact that the army and police also enjoy great trust among young people in the Republic of Macedonia is surprising. Trust in the army is an interesting phenomenon, especially when considering the debates about and the demands to repeal the mandatory armed service, which has been done to the joy of about 15-20,000 young people, who not only avoided compulsory military service but also the fines they had to pay for failing to meet this obligation. 5 Such answers are more in context with the general perceptions in Macedonia than they are a reflection of the need for personal safety and security. 1 76.89% of the respondents who consider that live in good living conditions, expect significant or some improvement. So, 77% of the respondents who consider that live in good living conditions, expect significant or some improvement. 2 UNDP. Human Development Report Bosnia and Herzegovina 2000: Youth, Independent Bureau for Humanitarian Issues(IBHI), Sarajevo 2001. 3 UNICEF and World Bank. Youth in South Eastern Europe: Report of the Rome Conference on Participation, Empowerement and Social Inclusion, Rome June 2002 4 ISPPI. Political culture of citizens and their influence on the work of the local government bodies, Skopje, 2005. 5 Sasko Dimevskai, in the Utrinski vesnik“By the law 15 thousand young people supposed to be soldiers will be granted amnesty“ http://217.16.70.245/?pBroj=1189&stID=3922&pR=2 Friedrich Ebert Stiftung 13