Abstract
While people have an influence on current political decisions, and as ordinary citizens represent the basis for political participation, depicting such political engagement in an empirical/practical way creates a concerning amount of methodological questions. Data obtained via the European Social Survey Round 1–7 offers the opportunity to outline and broaden the picture in terms of the personal (demographic and psychological) features of individuals who participate in politics to a greater or lesser degree. Participants from the seven rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS) were divided into three groups: higher, medium, and lower political participation (α = 0.642). A Scale of Political Participation was created based on ‘yes’ answers. It was found that those individuals who were female or had a lower level of education participated less, while older people were more politically participative than younger people. The psychological profile of these groups differs in terms of preferred values: attitudes, satisfaction, trust in people, and institutions.
Highlights
Almost every discussion on political participation starts with an emphasis on participation’s direct link to democracy
Political participation differs from country to country
A Pearson chisquare test was performed to determine whether political participation is associated with gender
Summary
Almost every discussion on political participation starts with an emphasis on participation’s direct link to democracy. This connection does not seem to be so straightforward (Norris, 2003). There are many ways to preserve a semblance of esprit démocratique, as illustrated by the European Parliament (EP) election rules and turnout in 2014. In Belgium, voters in three language communities elected MEPs using a preferential voting system without an electoral threshold through compulsory voting, and with 89.64 per cent turnout; in Slovakia, voters elected MEPs in single national constituencies using a preferential voting system – voters could attribute preferential votes to two candidates from one party or coalition –, a voluntary voting system, and with 13.05 per cent turnout
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