|
Synopsis:
At the very time when electoral
democracy has spread around the world, the conventional wisdom
suggests that citizens in many countries have become disengaged
from the traditional channels of political participation.
Commentators highlight common warning signs undermining the
three central channels of mass activism, including sagging
electoral turnout, rising anti-party sentiment, and the decay of
civic organizations. But are these concerns justified? This book
is the last of a trilogy considering related facets of this
phenomenon. The first, A Virtuous Circle, developed a
critique of the media malaise thesis, demonstrating that
attention to the news media was positively, not negatively,
linked to civic engagement. Digital Divide explored the
potential of the Internet for civic engagement, and the way that
new opportunities online altered the resources for political
competition, facilitating a more level playing field for smaller
challengers and opposition movements with technical skills and
know-how.
Building upon this foundation, this
book compares systematic evidence for electoral turnout, party
membership and civic activism in countries around the world and
suggests good reasons to question popular assumptions of
pervasive decline. Instead, it is suggested, not only is the
obituary for older forms of political activism premature, but
multiple forms of civic engagement may have emerged in modern
societies to supplement traditional modes. Political
participation appears to have evolved and diversified over the
years, in terms of the agencies (collective
organizations), repertoires (the actions commonly used
for political expression), and targets (the political
actors that participants seek to influence). The process of
societal modernization and rising levels of human capital are
primarily responsible for driving these developments, although
patterns of participation are also explained by the structure of
the state, the role of mobilizing agencies, and social
inequalities in resources and attitudes. As a result, contrary
to the conventional wisdom, democratic engagement may have been
reinvented for modern times, rather than simply atrophied.
The first two chapters set out the
reasons underlying these claims and the explanatory
framework. Subsequent chapters review the evidence by
comparing patterns of voting turnout, party membership, and
civic activism in many countries around the globe as well as
over time. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and
considers the implications for democracy.
|
