Contemporary Political Participation Research: A Critical Assessment

Abstract

This chapter investigates and analyses contemporary research regarding political participation. An extensive discussion on different conceptualizations and definitions of political participation is presented, raising the issue pertaining to the distinction between conventional and unconventional political participation and showing why this distinction is largely artificial and to a certain extent elusive. To facilitate our discussion about extreme and violent political participation activities (as they are described in contemporary research), frequent references are drawn to perceptions of the ancient Athenians as regards the roles and civil duties as citizens within their community, showing that these duties did not necessarily distinguish between different types of participation. The chapter makes further theoretical suggestions for future, pointing out the useful synergy between sociological research and political science analysis.