Political Participation

Transcription

1 Plitical Participatin Freedm isn't free. It shuldn't be a bragging pint that "Oh, I dn't get invlved in plitics, as if that makes yu smehw cleaner. N, that makes yu derelict f duty in a republic. Liars and panderers in gvernment wuld have a much harder time f it if s many peple didn't insist n their right t remain ignrant and blindly agreeable. Bill Maher

2 Plitical Participatin Plitical participatin refers t plitical activity by individual citizens. It encmpasses the many and diverse activities used by citizens t influence the selectin f plitical leaders r the plicies they pursue. Plitical participatin derives frm the freedm t speak ut, assemble and assciate the ability t take part in the cnduct f public affairs the pprtunity t register as a candidate, t campaign, t be elected and t hld ffice at all levels f gvernment It can be direct r indirect, individual r grup-riented.

3 Extent f Plitical Participatin In the US, participatin appears t have declined sharply at the end f the 19 th century. Fr example, althugh turnut fr presidential electins in the decades fllwing the Civil War averaged mre than 75%, the rate fell steadily during the early years f the 20 th century t an average f 51.7% in the 1920s, rse again in the 1930s and in the 1960s averaged slightly abve 60%. Even within the US, reginal variatins in participatin are great in any given year: in 1960, fr example, the turnut ranged frm 30.4% in Gergia t 80.7% in Idah.

4 Benefits f Plitical Participatin the principal means by which cnsent is granted r withdrawn in a demcracy and leaders are held accuntable prmtes stability and rder secures the greatest gd fr the greatest number by giving everyne the pprtunity t express his/her wn interests cmmunity gains by drawing n the talents and skills f the largest pssible number f peple gives individuals a sense f their wn value alerts bth leaders and citizens t their duties and respnsibilities bradens plitical understanding

5 Plitical Participatin Participatin in electral prcesses invlves much mre than just vting and it extends beynd plitical parties. Individuals can becme invlved in aspects f the electral prcess thrugh independent actin, particularly at the lcal level, and by jining rganizatins. Prfessinal netwrks, trade unins, nngvernmental rganizatins and the media prvide avenues fr plitical participatin. There are tw types f plitical participatin: uncnventinal and cnventinal.

6 Uncnventinal Plitical Participatin...relatively uncmmn behavir that challenges r defies gvernment r the dminant culture usually persnally stressful fr bth participants and their ppnents lng histry (the Bstn Tea Party) f uncnventinal participatin yet Americans generally disapprve, particularly f thse acts that interfere with their daily lives (such as ccupying buildings r disrupting traffic) has been successful in influencing gvernment decisins (civil rights mvement, the Vietnam War)

7 Uncnventinal Plitical Participatin characteristics f peple participating in uncnventinal ways: distrust f the plitical system strng sense f plitical efficacy highly develped sense f grup cnsciusness includes activities such as marches, sit ins, direct plitical actin, signing petitins, supprting byctts, staging demnstratins and prtests, acts f civil disbedience, etc

8 Uncnventinal Plitical Participatin Sme therists add a third type f plitical participatin, usually as a distinct frm f uncnventinal plitical participatin. illegal participatin: activities that break the law includes activities such as plitical assassinatin, terrrism, sabtaging an ppnent s campaign thrugh theft r vandalism, damage t prperty, cyber attacks, etc Mst f the time (but nt always), peple resrt t illegal participatin nly when legal means have failed t create significant plitical change.

9 Cnventinal Plitical Participatin...relatively rutine, added behavir that uses the channels f representative gvernment types supprtive/symblic behavir: mainly ceremnial acts expressing allegiance t gvernment and cuntry influencing behavir: seeks t mdify r reverse gvernment plicy, may seek t derive particular benefits frm gvernment

10 Cnventinal Plitical Participatin types influencing behavir tw kinds f activities that influence the selectin f gvernment persnnel and plicies lw-initiative acts: d nt require much effrt, such as vting high-initiative acts: require active participatin t btain benefits, can be assciated with the electral prcess r can be separate such as class-actin suits

11 Cnventinal Plitical Participatin includes activities such as vting, writing letters, cntacting fficials, giving mney, vlunteering fr a plitical campaign, belnging t activist grups, serving in public ffice, etc Cmpared with citizens f ther cuntries, Americans are less likely t vte in electins but are mre likely t engage in ther frms f cnventinal participatin. tendency fr varius frms f plitical participatin and indifference t cluster: Peple wh engage in ne f the mre active frms f participatin are inclined t be active in ther ways as well. Peple wh habitually fail t vte will usually avid such ther minimal activities as reading the plitical news.

12 The Internet and Plitical Participatin capacity f the internet t permit rdinary citizens t shrt-circuit plitical elites and deal directly with ne anther and public fficials fsters deliberatin, enhances trust and creates cmmunity facilitates plitical participatin allws certain frms f plitical activity t be cnducted mre easily facilitates the prcess f the frmatin f plitical grups vast amunts f plitical infrmatin available n the internet, lwers the csts f acquiring plitical knwledge and stimulates plitical interest facilitates plitical cnversatin amng large numbers f participants spread ver vast distances

13 The Internet and Plitical Participatin facilitates mbilizatin t take plitical actin There are hints that frms f civic engagement anchred in blgs and scial netwrking sites alter lng-standing patterns that are based n sciecnmic status. Thse wh use blgs and scial netwrking sites as an utlet fr civic engagement are far mre active in traditinal realms f plitical and nnplitical participatin than are ther internet users. In additin, they are even mre active than thse wh d nt use the internet at all. Online cmmunicatins t gvernment fficials are just as likely t draw a respnse as cntacts in persn, ver the phne r by letter. negative: fsters undemcratic tendencies such as greater plitical fragmentatin, hacktivism (the use f cmputers as a means f prtest t prmte plitical ends) and incivility Hacktivism is Nt a Crime

14 Reasns fr Plitical Participatin Mst feel that sme level f plitical participatin, particularly cnventinal participatin, is admirable and acceptable. But plitical participatin can be hard... it requires time and mney. S why d peple d it? idealism: believe strngly in a particular idea respnsibility: view participatin as a respnsibility f demcratic citizenship self-interest: prmte issues and causes that persnally prfit the persn enjyment: either f the activity itself r f the friends made while plitically engaged

15 Reasns fr Plitical Participatin Ratinal Actr Mdel: Citizens weigh the csts against the benefits. If benefits are small, it isn't ratinal t participate. Lcal participatin, grup activities and plitical prtest may seem mre effective and thus mre ratinal.

16 Wh Participates? Participatin rates are a functin f resurces and civic skills. sciecnmic status: an indicatr f mst types f cnventinal plitical participatin... Peple with mre educatin, higher incmes and white-cllar jbs are mre likely than thers t participate in plitics. standard sciecnmic mdel f participatin: shws relatinship between sciecnmic status and cnventinal plitical invlvement Uncnventinal behavir is related t higher sciecnmic status in much the same way. age: Yung peple are less likely than lder peple t participate in cnventinal plitics.

17 Wh Participates? racial and ethnic grups: If nly race and ethnicity are cnsidered, whites have higher rates than d blacks and Latins. Studies that cntrl fr incme and educatin levels have fund that the participatin rates are abut the same fr whites, blacks and Latins. gender: Fr many years, wmen participated at lwer rates. Mre recently, wmen s participatin rates have equaled and exceeded that f men. educatin: strngest single demgraphic factr in explaining mst types f cnventinal plitical participatin

18 Wh Participates?

19 Wh Participates?

20 Wh Participates? idelgical cnsistency: Acrss all types f plitical participatin, peple n the idelgical left r right are mre than twice as likely t be active participants cmpared with thse wh hld a rughly equal mix f liberal and cnservative values... Even after cntrlling fr demgraphic factrs knwn t be assciated with higher levels f participatin, the relatinship between idelgical cnsistency and participatin persists. antipathy fr ppsitin: Thse wh hld strngly negative views f the ther plitical party are far mre likely t participate in the plitical prcess than the rest f the natin. gvernment respnsiveness: A psitive experience with gvernment respnsiveness will increase the prbability f future participatin.

21 Range f Plitical Participatin plitical participatin is... hierarchical: a cst vs. benefit situatin... The greater the investment f plitical resurces required the fewer peple are invlved. cumulative: Thse wh participate accumulate scial capital and gain plitical efficacy, making future participatin easier and mre likely.

22 Range f Plitical Participatin Only a small percentage f the American peple are actively engaged in the plitical prcess. Even these figures are prbably inflated since mre peple tend t reprt plitical activity than actually engage in it. The answers may als vary depending n the time asked (whether during r between campaigns) and the type f electin.

23 Range f Plitical Participatin cmpletely inactive (22% f pp): rarely vte, n rganizatinal invlvement, rarely / never talk abut plitics and issues vting specialists (21%): vte but d little else, tend nt t have much schling r incme, substantially lder than average campaigners (15%): vte, campaign activists that wrk phnes/walk precincts/etc, better educated than average, interested in cnflicts/passins/struggles f plitics, clearly identified with a party, willing t take strng psitins n issues

24 Range f Plitical Participatin cmmunalists (20%): scial backgrund much like campaigners but different temperament, dn t like cnflict r tensin f partisan campaigns, reserve energies fr cmmunity activities f a nnpartisan nature, frm/jin nnplitical lcal rganizatins t deal with lcal prblems and lcal fficials parchial participants (4%): dn t vte, stay ut f electin campaigns and civic assciatins, willing t cntact public fficials abut specific and ften persnal prblems cmplete activists (11%): highly educated/high incme, participate in all frms f plitics, tend t be middle aged

25 Range f Plitical Participatin

26 Reasns fr Nn-Participatin In the US, nly abut half f all eligible peple vte in presidential electins. Even fewer participate in ther ways. Such nnparticipatin culd signify a number f attitudes. cntentment: satisfactin with the status qu... If they were upset, peple wuld participate. freedm: the freedm t nt participate apathy: dn t knw much abut plitics and dn t care alienatin: feel that n ne in pwer listens t their views and that the gvernment is, at best, indifferent t them

27 Plitics is nt a majr interest f mst Americans and as a result, knwledge abut the plitical system is limited. Wh Desn t Participate?

28 Wh Desn t Participate? Plitical participatin is nt natural, but must be learned. Fr learning t ccur, individuals must have capacity, mtivatin and pprtunity. In sme parts f sciety, all three are missing. tw grups f nnparticipants can be distinguished: thse wh fail t participate ut f plitical indifference, exclusin r incapacity: the larger f the tw grups includes: the habitual nnvters wh have little knwledge f issues r candidates and are mystified by plitical events rarely able t cnnect what happens ut there with the events f their wn lives the uneducated, inarticulate, parchial, islated thse wh ccupy rles in which plitical passivity is perceived as the nrm

29 Wh Desn t Participate? thse wh cnsciusly chse nt t participate: small but far mre diverse grup includes: thse wh disdain plitics because it seems self-serving and crrupt thse disenchanted either because the system serves them badly r because plitics desn t seem sufficiently meaningful the realists wh believe their chances f influencing the plitical system are t small t spend time and energy n them thse wh believe the system ffers n genuine alternatives and all effrts t change the utcmes are useless thse wh find the entire subject bring certain subcultures that value plitical indifference certain deprived minrities wh perceive participatin as useless, dangerus r as an affectatin and express their cntempt by withdrawing

30 Obstacles mainly impede thse wh are least mtivated t participate. literacy tests fr vting (n lnger allwed) pll taxes fr vting (n lnger allwed) institutinal barriers such as cmplicated electin cdes and nnpartisan ballt frms cumbersme registratin prcedures inadequate prvisins fr absentee vting inaccessibility f plling places residency requirements... may disenfranchise as much as 5%-10% f the eligible electrate Barriers t Plitical Participatin vter/participatin fatigue: US federal system prduces mre electins than any ther mdern demcracy. nn-transparent party prcesses, schedules, lcatins

31 Barriers t Plitical Participatin perceived us vs. them / elitist attitudes f party activists lack f time and/r mney ignrance abut the plitical prcess and ways f participating delayed gratificatin in sme areas... lack f pprtunities fr participatin lengthy party incumbency culture in which the plitical prcess is the exclusive dmain f nly certain grups In the US, nly a small effrt is made by gvernment r the parties t register and/r instruct ptential participants.

32 The Paradx f Participatin Ratinal chice therists have argued that participatin, particularly vting, is irratinal. In a large cuntry, the prbability that ne persn will change anything is tiny. Because participatin has csts (time, mney, effrt t learn abut the candidates and issues, etc), the csts f participatin utweigh the benefits. In ther wrds, plitical participatin des nt make sense fr peple as an activity. At the same time, hwever, if everyne wh participates ceased t believe in the pwer f participatin t effect change, then n ne wuld participate and the demcratic prcess wuld stp functining. Plitical scientists call this phenmenn the paradx f participatin.

33 Cntinued in Vting: Right and Respnsibility