Being active and sharing happy moments: exploring the relationship of political participation and subjective well-being

Abstract

In my thesis, I provide a relational approach on how political participation in rural Japan is linked to the activists’ well-being. While existing research has not come to a clear conclusion, this study uses an iterative qualitative research design that identifies six dimensions of how to link the two phenomena. Based on anthropological approaches to the topic, I demonstrate how my respondents emphasize the reciprocity of well-being in the process of political action. In Japanese regions characterized by demographic decline and aging, well-being is interpreted primarily as a relational phenomenon whose meaning unfolds against the backdrop of a specifically rural context, but is also one situated in the everyday lives of the interviewees. I perceive well-being as something that is not only linked to the natural landscape in that particular area, but is above all connected to the enjoyment of other people.