Citizen Participation in Local Government

Abstract

Citizens can participate in government and politics in a variety of ways. This brief entry examines what scholars have learned about citizen participation in local government and politics. It focus on four forms of political participation in particular: voting; joining interest groups; joining political parties; and contacting local government officials. While political scientists and scholars of public administration have learned a great deal about citizen participation in local government and politics, we are far from a complete understanding of the phenomenon.