Chapter 1 - Participating in Politics

Politics, democracy and participation
1. What it politics?
  1. how we are governened
    1. concerns the way in which decisions are made about government, state and public affairs: where power lies and different theories such as democracy, equality etc
  2. POWER
    1. the ability to get things done, if necessary by making others do what they would not do by free choice
    2. the ability to reward and punish
    3. enables collective decisions to be made and enforced
    4. enables rulers to serve or manipulate the people over whom they rule
    5. power is used in many authoritarian regimes to maintain leaders in office
      1. it's also used by dictators (terror and fear)
  3. AUTHORITY
    1. the ability of governments and individuals to direct others to achieve their goals because the majority of people accept that it is the government's right to tell them what to do rather than because of the power or force they have at their disposal
    2. power cloaked in rightfulness
    3. usually others will obey and force will not be used
      1. legitimate power, respect and recognition that the person exercising it is justified in doing so
    4. those in a democracy, who govern, have the authority to do so
2. What is democracy?
  1. people power, the government resting on the consent of the governed
  2. modern system is indirect or representative democracy
    1. Key elements: -popular control of policy makers - the existence of open and organised opposition - political equality (OMOV) - political freedoms -majority rule -free and fair elections -lawmaking by elected representatives
  3. pluralism - the existence of diverse centres of economic and political power, involving a choice of political parties and the existence of many pressure groups
  4. limited government - checks and limitations on the power of government in order to secure essential liberties
  5. civil liberties and civil rights - the existence of essential public freedoms that are often written in law
  6. open government - non-secretive government that can be seen to be fair and accountable
  7. independent judiciary - a just, impartial and independent legal system based on equal access to the law
  8. free and open media - newspapers and broadcasting being allowed to operate freely without government pressure
3. Participation, the essence of democracy
  1. All citizens can participate by standing as political candidates
  2. participation refers to the various means by which the public can directly participate in decisions about public policy
    1. citizen participation is basic to the democratic system
      1. people may not be able to make decisions directly, but those who do make them are accountable to the electorate at election time
  3. all adults have the right to vote
    1. most people use this as their form of participation however there are many other ways they could participate such as political meetings and protests
Forms of political participation
1. VIA ELECTIONS
  1. main way in which most people participate, for many it would be their only means of political activity in which they engage
  2. many potential voters are abstainers, by choice therefore not having a say in which party governs
  3. this can also mean voting to choose local councillors/devolved assemblies
2. VIA OTHER FORMS OF INVOLVEMENT
  1. becoming a member of a political party (not common), more active memebrship might involve serving on a committee
  2. wearing a party badge or putting up a poster at election time
  3. seeking election to the Westminster parliament, devolved bodies or local councils
  4. membership of one or more pressure groups
  5. attending a meeting, distributing leaflets, canvassing on the doorstep, writing to elected representatives, taking part in a radio or television phone in programme, participating in an opinion poll or focus group survey, setting up a website
  6. taking diirect action,
  7. political violence
3. turnout
Who particiaptes and to what extent?
1. most establshed democracies - level of popular participation falls well below the ideal
  1. forms of participation outside of voting are sporadic
2. many voters are ill-informed about political issues or indeed any other issues affecting public affairs
3. studies
  1. US - Milbrath and Goel (1977)
    1. Gladiators - are the relatively small percentage of activists who are keen participants
    2. spectators- in the large majority, are those who observe the contest but who limit their participation to voting
    3. apathetics - are the non-participants who do not even watch the contest and are indifferent to its outcome
  2. Britain - Parry et al
    1. surveyed moer than 1,500 respondents and provided them with a list of 23 differen political actions
    2. concluded, not everyone participates and those who do do not participate in the same way or at the same rate
    3. only 1/4 of the population are involved in any significant way
4. in Britain and the US there is a significant element of the population that forms an under-class, uniformed about, uninterested in and alienated from the political system
  1. widespread scepticism
    1. politics has nothing to offer them
  2. 40:30:30 society
5. disenchantment : a loss of trust in the political system and those who operate within it
  1. trust in government has declined, and fewer people think that politicians are truthful, reliable and willing to act in the public interest.
  2. Parry's study 1992 found that in comparison with other advanced industrial countries, Britain had a middle-ranking position on the 'trust in government and politicians' scale, the British were less trusting and more cynical than West Gemrany but more trusting and less cynical than the USA
  3. Putnam (wirting in 2000) has echoed some of Parry's concerns, detecting a profound change of feeling that is more serious than a snese of apathy and alienation. In his view, there is a decline in civil participation and public trust that together constitute 'a worrying decline in America's social capital', a degree of scepticism is healthy but democracy is based on the consent of the governed, if they lack confidence in their political leaders, this may be a sign that the system is not serving the poeple well
Does participation really matter?
1. YES IT DOES
  1. in a democracy. it is ultimately the people who hold ministers to account, as a democracy involves control of the government by those who are governed o
  2. without effective opportunities for participation, there is a danger of increasing alienation and political exclusion of some social groups
  3. participation by the moderate majority is a counter to the rise of political extremism
  4. participation is the way to counter apathy, alienation and ignorance
  5. so called 'new forms of participation' are sporadic, often focused on single issues, and they quickly fade out of existence
2. NO IT DOESN'T
  1. it is easy to over-emphasise the arguments concerning participation
  2. for many people, politics is not an important priority in their lives
  3. people only participate in high numbers at times of crisis
  4. there is little you can do to make people participate
3. should people turn out to vote
  1. through voting, everyone gets a chance to express their views
  2. all over the world, people have fought and died for the right to vote in free elections
  3. the vote is perhaps the major symbol of citizenship in democracy

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Chapter 1 - Participating in Politics

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	Created by Alice Hurst over 10 years ago