Political Citizenship, Activism and Socialist Beliefs

Abstract

It has become fashionable to associate the rise of new forms of political activism with a renaissance of active citizenship, in ‘new social movements’, and a decline of bureaucratic, corporatist-style, politics (Crook et al., 1992, pp. 147–154). Prompted, perhaps, by ‘Red—Green’ coalitions in continental Europe, some analysts foresee strategic alliances between traditional left-wing politics and the ‘green/peace’ movements (Parry et al., 1992, p. 426). However, this focus on the grass-roots activism of new social movements tends to neglect the alternative possibility of a corresponding decline of lay political activism between the mass political parties and the mainstream of the representative democracy — a decline which might, if widespread, have serious implications for the efficacy and mass legitimacy of the broader democratic system.