Political Participation

1
Political Participation

• Who participates and what difference does it make?

2
Forms of participation

• Voluntary participation self-motivated
  individuals decide to participate
• Regimented participation the government (or
  ruling party) forces people to participate
• Characteristic of totalitarian and some
  authoritarian regimes
• Mobilized participation parties, trade unions,
  churches, interest groups encourage people to
  participate not coerced but combination of
  incentives plus strong element of persuasion

3
Some key questions

• Who participates in politics?
• How does it vary?
• from country to country?
• within countries?
• What accounts for differences and similarities?
• What difference does it make? The so what
  question

4
The more the more hypothesis

• People with higher social and economic status
  (SES), and more education more likely to
  participate
• If so, then
• There will be more participation in wealthier
  societies than in poorer societies
• Participating more, better-offs in any society
  should have more influence than worse-offs

5
Post-materialism and value change

• Erst das fressen, dan die morale
• According to Ronald Inglehart, people who are
  raised (or come of age) in affluent societies are
  more likely to to hold post-material or radical
  quality of life values
• People who are raised in situations of economic
  scarcity are more likely to hold materialistic
  values

6
Is this true?

• Those at the bottom should have greater
  motivation to participate
• Working class parties have mobilized followers in
  order to ensure a voice
• But, how effectively and how recently?
• If the very poor do not participate as much, why
  do they not participate?

7
Is this true?

• Those at the bottom should have greater
  motivation to participate
• Working class parties have mobilized followers in
  order to ensure a voice
• But, how effectively and how recently?
• If the very poor do not participate as much, why
  do they not participate?