The Political Culture - Where do Students Stand?
*Opinion Piece
Source: By Sulthan Auliya on Unsplash.
Every election, the spheres of student and political culture collide. But off the campaign trail, those spheres don’t just co-exist, they overlap.
Students have the power to vote, the power to inform policy, the power to create change. So what is it about political culture that has so many students feeling disenfranchised? And as the polarizing political culture of America continues to make New Zealand news, how does Aotearoa’s political culture compare?
According to local UC student Zach Dawson, a third-year Political Communications major, “the biggest difference in New Zealand’s political culture compared to the US is the rigidity of America’s voter expression.”
According to Dawson, American political culture is far more polarizing, thanks to their first-past-the-post two party system. Although the US electoral system may have its benefits, it forces the American people to align themselves with one side of an inherently multifaceted argument, even though their party of choice may not stand completely in line with their individual views.
This political split has fostered a level of fanaticism among many American voters, who feel indebted to their party of choice. On the other hand, the Mixed Member Proportional system of New Zealand, which stipulates that the proportion of votes a political party receives reflects the number of seats they hold in Parliament, has greatly influenced our political culture as well as our policy. Aotearoa’s MMP electoral system allows for greater voter choice.
Though generational voting remains a point of tradition and connection for many New Zealand families, Kiwi students tend to be less loyal to one single party. According to Dawson, “there is likely another party who’s policy may better represent your beliefs the following election cycle”.
Our ability to remain flexible in party votes, to submit a split vote and support the policies of one party but vote separately for our electorate representatives, leads to far less fanaticism and more understanding between voters.
Dawson told Canta “the difference between American and New Zealand political culture also describes the biggest issue in their modern politics” -- the division of their political sphere is imparted onto society. “The current political divide in the US feels the largest it has been in my life”, said Dawson. Many Americans, at least those Americans who make our news, seem unable to put their political opinions aside and view those around them as just regular people.
Regardless of where they stand, from either side of the political aisle, it seems that American voters denounce and cast other perspectives aside. They don’t tend to consider that everyone has a unique background with their own challenges, their lives shaping their beliefs and concerns.
Third-year political communications student Guy Greening agrees. Greening told Canta the biggest rift between New Zealand and American political culture is the “levels of extremism”.
According to Greening, “the United States has normalised extreme political views”, and the divisional rift in the American political sphere has isolated many inexperienced student voters.
The two-party system of America provides the scaffolding required for a highly polarising political culture, culture which can rapidly become exclusionary and isolating. Greening told Canta, “if the country could have more diverse voices, then maybe the results would be different, and they wouldn't have such rigid governments”.
The problem with fostering diversity in America’s tangential political sphere, is that the privatised expense of launching a political campaign makes it nearly impossible. According to Cooper English, a self-proclaimed ‘Ex-American’ with dual citizenship, “the biggest issue in modern US politics is the presence of corporate players, like lobbyists, or top-level executives of companies, in politics”. The American political culture is fanned by classism, and it remains completely inaccessible to the average person.
UC student Riley Neupauer, who immigrated to New Zealand from the United States, told Canta Aotearoa has a “much more engaging and accessible political sphere than America” and keeping our political culture accessible is essential for Kiwi students, allowing them to engage in policy and participate in electoral cycles.
According to Neupauer, while there’s still much room for improvement, Aotearoa offers legitimate democratic participation to an extent that is unheard of in the United States, whether it’s engaging face-to-face with local MPs or the opportunity to make submissions on upcoming legislation.
Neupauer told Canta, as with most people, “my understanding of politics while living in America was highly limited” and existed only in the confines of election cycles and the Democrat-Republican dichotomy.
“Just the last few years have seen me become properly immersed in the world of politics”, which encompasses so much of our day-to-day lives, said Neupauer. “This is due in no small part to my move to New Zealand, which has provided me with a wide variety of opportunities for engagement and connection, a privilege I’m immensely grateful for”.
The political culture here in Aotearoa certainly has its flaws. Dawson told Canta “we, too, are seeing a lot of division in our country, whether that be racial, class based, or from opinion”. However, our Kiwi political culture leaves us better equipped to have genuine conversation, and although that may not lead to agreement, we can at least foster an understanding.
Democracy is functioning at its best when participation is maximised. Students have a place in our political culture, and it is a valuable one. In the words of Dawson, “thanks, America, but we’re good.”