Forms Of Political Participation Research Articles

Treading carefully: the environment and political participation in science education

AbstractPolitics and science are inextricably connected, particularly in relation to the climate emergency and other environmental crises, yet science education is an often overlooked site for engaging with the political dimensions of environmental issues. This study examines how science teachers in England experience politics—specifically political participation—in relation to the environment in school science, against a background of increased obstruction in civic space. The study draws on an analysis of theoretically informed in-depth interviews with eleven science teachers about their experiences of political participation in relation to environmental issues. We find that politics enters the science classroom primarily through informal conversations initiated by students rather than planned by teachers. When planned for, the emphasis is on individual, latent–political (civic) engagement rather than manifest political participation. We argue that this is a symptom of the post-political condition and call for a more enabling environment for discussing the strengths and limitations of different forms of political participation in school science.

Populists without parties: are left-wing and right-wing populists in Quebec disengaged citizens?

ABSTRACT The literature on populism is vast, with most studies exploring this phenomenon in contexts where populist parties play a central role in steering populist ideas and mobilizing their supporters. Yet, populist ideas can be supported by a widespread share of the population even in the absence of populist parties. This study investigates and compares how left- and right-wing populists engage with politics when no populist party represents their voice in the political system. Relying on a survey of 5633 respondents in Quebec (Canada), we examine how support for populist ideas relates to different forms of political participation. Our findings indicate that left-wing populists are less likely to vote than other citizens, specifically at the provincial level. This finding, however, does not hold for their right-wing counterparts. Moreover, right-wing populists exhibit a greater propensity to engage in non- and semi-institutional forms of action that enable them to express their grievances directly to elected officials. With these forms of action not observed among left-wing populists, our study points to fundamental differences in the expression of left- and right-wing populisms. Despite these differences, our study indicates that all populists perceive more than other citizens that violence can be a legitimate mean of action.

Spaces of youth politics and the Arab uprisings: environmental activism and the Algerian Hirak

ABSTRACT The two waves of uprisings in the Arab world in 2011, then 2019, have brought profound changes. In the second wave, including Iraq, Lebanon and Sudan, the Algerian hirak of 2019 constituted a massive political and social movement, bringing a new president and government, and affecting the popular consciousness that change was now possible. While participation in formal politics remains low, new spaces of participation have emerged. Environmental activism in the public space, as well as deeper challenges to extractivist development ideology, have inspired new practices of youth politics. From the disruption of the hirak to subsequent active citizenship, Algerians have proposed alternative development models. Drawing on findings from a participatory research project working with a network of Algerian youth researchers, and interviews with Algerian young people, associations and entrepreneurs, it is argued that the practices of the hirak have consolidated and amplified the everyday activism of Algerian civil society. Organizing environmental protests and action, Algerian youth have created new political spaces and inspired deeper reflections about the future of their country. These findings offer new insights into the longer term impacts of the Arab uprisings and of environmental activism, on spaces of youth political participation.

Age, Political Participation, and Political Context in Africa.

Political participation differs across the age range, but little is known about these patterns outside of developed countries. Political context is a particularly important consideration for all political behavior in Africa, where only a few countries are fully democratic. Drawing from political opportunity structures theory, we investigate how political freedom conditions the age-based pattern of electoral and non-electoral political engagement, as well as protesting. This study merges the fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds of the Afrobarometer datasets, spanning 36 African countries, with country-level data on political freedom from Freedom House. Using multilevel regression models, we examine how political freedom shapes the relationship between age and three forms of political participation. Africans aged from 18 to 60 years and living in non-free countries are most engaged in electoral and non-electoral political activities, though participation begins to drop off markedly past age 60. For protest participation, young Africans living in partially- and non-free countries are the most engaged in protests; yet limited political freedom again means a sharp age-based decline. The impact of political context on the age-participation association is nuanced in ways not anticipated by mainstream research on the developed West. Repressive regimes, while spurring engagement at younger ages, appear to disproportionately deter older Africans from political engagement, especially its riskiest forms. We conclude by calling for more country-comparative gerontological research with careful attention to contextual heterogeneity, particularly in the understudied Global South.

Barriers and Impacts of Female Participation in Formal Politics in Makassar City Period 2019-2024

The increase of women's representation in formal politics in Makassar is encouraging for democracy. Even though there has been an increase in numbers, it has not yet reached the 30 percent quota in accordance with the affirmative action policy. This article wants to discuss the barrier for women in Makassar making it difficult for them to get chance into formal politics. Then, this article also wants to discuss the barriers and impact of female in Makassar legislative and executive institutions to gender equality. In writing this article, we used the library research method. The conclusion in this article is that social structures and political party are barriers for female who want to advance into formal politics, and the impact of female participation in legislative institutions is also quite satisfying by issuing policies and programs that contribute to gender equality and women's empowerment.

DOES SOCIAL CAPITAL ENHANCE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION? A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS OF YOUNGER AND OLDER ADULTS IN EUROPE

Abstract Political participation encompasses institutionalised activities such as attending meetings of a political organisation as well as non-institutionalised activities including contacting politicians, signing petitions or boycotting. Both forms of activities tend to be dependent upon birth cohort, political socialisation, and period effects like changes in the welfare state design. Furthermore, it is also connected with other domains of civic engagement as well as trust. Social capital theory focuses on social connections and roles fostering civic engagement, including political participation, however, the relationship between social capital and political participation might look different for different types of political activities. The aim of this study was, therefore, to test the importance of social capital for different types of political participation in younger and older adults by analysing cross-national data from the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) in 2016. Data was collected in 33 European countries and includes more than 36,000 individuals aged 18 and over. Multilevel regression analysis was used to explore individual-level and country-level social capital on different measures of institutionalised and non-institutionalised political participation in younger and older adults. The results showed that a third of the sample participated in non-institutionalised activities whereas 11 percent participated in institutionalised activities. Both forms of political participation were lower among older adults as compared to younger age groups. While social capital was identified as an important predictor of political participation, it was also shown that these associations were conditioned by larger cultural, political and welfare institutional contexts.

‘Dear Oxfam’: consumer-supporter-activism, NGO accountability and the boundaries of the political in the Barclays boycott, 1970-1991

ABSTRACT This article is about complaint-making as a form of political participation in the NGO sector. It focuses on public scrutiny of Oxfam’s use of Barclays Bank during the anti-apartheid boycott of the bank in the 1970s and 1980s and analyses pro-boycott and anti-boycott correspondence to Oxfam during this period. The article uses the Barclays boycott case to illustrate the dynamics of public-institution relationships during a period in which the NGO sector rapidly expanded and professionalised. It argues that not all donors favoured shallow or passive relationships with the NGOs that they supported. In this example, donors mobilised as a distinct type of ‘consumer-supporter-activist’. Finally, the article shows how the Barclays controversy stimulated public debate around the ideal boundaries between the ‘charitable’ and the ‘political’. It argues that apartheid South Africa stimulated far greater public engagement on this issue than other areas of Oxfam’s work.

Implementation of the principle of people's power as a way of participation in the administration of justice

The publication examines the doctrinal principles on the forms of direct democracy and the existing problems regarding the exercise of power by the people. Based on the historical perspective of the analysis of European legislation in this area, ways of improving the Basic Law of Ukraine are proposed.
 It was established that, despite the insignificant and contradictory support of the thinkers of the ancient world and the Middle Ages regarding the need to recognize the right of the people to cancel the legislative acts of the representative bodies of the state, this idea received significant development precisely in the era of the New Age, when the proclamation of people's rule was accompanied by the establishment of parliamentarism, the authority and trust of which is constantly fell among the common people. It has been proven that the essence of such judgments was that modern democracy is based on the idea of popular sovereignty, that is, on the need to create such a system of state-legal relations that would ensure the primacy of law in all spheres of social relations and enable the people to exercise their right to be the source and basis state power precisely because of various forms of political participation in the state management of the country, one of which is participation in the exercise of judicial power.
 It has been determined that the views of thinkers in support of forms of people's power boil down to the fact that the right to limit state power is recognized as an inalienable, natural human right that belongs to them from birth. Therefore, people's power itself is one of the means related to the system of checks and balances, and therefore helps not only the normal functioning of state authorities by exercising control over the actions of their representatives, but also the direct exercise of power by the people, which thereby helps to ensure the principle of popular sovereignty.
 It has been established that today the practice of applying forms of direct democracy is significantly ahead of theoretical developments in this area. This very issue is voluminous, and at the same time there are a large number of gaps and contradictions in the possibility of constitutional consolidation of new forms of people's rule.

Politics and Muslim women in the Deep South of Thailand: roles, opportunities, and challenges

This study investigates the political representation of Malay Muslim women in the Deep South of Thailand. It addresses the research question(s) about whether the identities of either being Malay or Muslim impede the participation of women in formal politics. The research results demonstrate that the intricate cultural dimensions of identifying as Malay, Muslim, and Thai have collectively influenced the political roles of women in the Deep South. Typically, leadership positions in politics are perceived as male-oriented domains. The study suggests that new values are needed to increase the participation of Malay Muslim women in politics, particularly among young generations. Despite the acceptance of women in public space, the roles of women are often presented as one who has the responsibility to look after the family rather than engage in politics. The research highlights the challenges that Malay Muslim women face in formal politics. Cultural layers of religion, values in Malay society, and Thai political culture are obstacles that impede their participation in formal politics. More research is needed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issue.

Billionaire Politicians: A Global Perspective

We introduce an original dataset of formal political participation for over 2,000 individuals included in the Forbes Billionaires List. We find that billionaire politicians are a surprisingly common phenomenon: Over 11% of the world’s billionaires have held or sought political office. Even compared to other elite groups known for producing politicians from their ranks, this is a high rate of political participation. Moreover, billionaires focus their political ambitions on influential positions, have a strong track record of winning elections, and lean to the right ideologically. We also document substantial cross-national variation: a country’s number of billionaire politicians is not simply a product of its total number of billionaires, but is instead related to regime type. Specifically, billionaires formally enter the political sphere at a much higher rate in autocracies than in democracies. We conclude by discussing the normative implications of our findings and outlining a new research agenda on billionaire politicians.

Traženje povezanosti medijske pismenosti i političke participacije kod različitih generacija

Many scholars argue that media literacy is crucial for the development of citizenship and political engagement, especially in the digital environment. While a positive relationship between news consumption and political participation has long been established, we still lack sufficient knowledge on how media literacy influences political participation. Studies about the connection between media literacy and political engagement do not point to a clear relationship between the two. Most studies on media literacy and participation focus on young media users, overlooking generational differences in news consumption. Moreover, studies should also acknowledge the expanding repertoires of political participation in a digitally networked environment. This study uses a news media literacy (NML) scale and an extended political participation scale to analyse the relationship between media literacy and different dimensions of political participation, taking into account generational differences among news audiences. Data from the survey on media literacy is used, and regression analysis is used to assess the relationship between media literacy and political participation. The results are not unequivocally in line with the normative understanding of the relationship between media literacy and civic engagement. Although media literacy education programmes have a positive impact on some forms of political participation, there is no significant relationship between news media literacy and political participation. There is also a generational gap in news media literacy and political participation. The results call for further validation of the NML scale and research of inequalities in news media literacy.

Filipino Youth in Viral and Virulent Times: Unpacking the Predictors of Youth Political Participation in the 2022 Philippine Elections

Conventional political science literature suggests that the economic and political dislocations that accompany disasters, like pandemics, weaken community resources and disrupt social networks, consequently decreasing civic engagement. This paper examines how discontent, demotivation, and fatigue due to the dragging COVID-19 pandemic provided impetus for offline, interpersonal, and online political participation among younger Filipino citizens especially nearing its 2022 presidential elections. Drawing on an exploratory survey of undergraduate students who were constrained to online classes due to pandemic restrictions, we find that pandemic fatigue motivated the youth to explore online platforms as situ of political articulation. The findings also nuance the impact of well-known predictors such as political knowledge, interest, and efficacy on youth civic engagement. In particular, internal political efficacy was found to be strongly related to the three forms of political participation while external efficacy only stimulates online political participation. The study points to the importance of targeting political attitudes in order to shape political interest among the youth and nurture a politically engaged citizenry.

The Nexus between Protest and Electoral Participation: Explaining Chile's Exceptionalism

AbstractThe literature on political participation has consistently found that protest positively and significantly correlates with voting. However, Chile can be considered a deviant case to this pattern. During the last decade, Chileans who participated in street demonstrations were unlikely to participate in elections. What explains this anomaly? We argue that this rupture between participation in protest and in elections results from an effective distancing between social-movement organisations (SMOs) and institutional politics. However, this distancing of SMOs from party politics has not been homogeneous. To examine this heterogeneity, we conduct a comparative design of two cases: the labour and student movements. Based on a mixed-methods study that combines interviews with movement leaders and surveys of protest participants in marches, we seek to highlight the mediating role of SMOs in the promotion of different forms of political participation.

Politics on the stock market? Political investorism as a form of political participation

Political investorism involves the use of financial investments to promote political aims, but has, with some recent exceptions, received scarce attention from political scientists although there are valid theoretical reasons to consider this a new form of political participation. Here, we add new knowledge to this research agenda by examining empirically whether political investorism constitutes a distinct mode of political participation. Furthermore, we explore the characteristics of political investors and why they use political investorism. We examine these issues using an original survey from Finland ( n = 1065). Our results demonstrate that political investorism constitutes a distinct mode of participation that in particular appeals to young and well-educated women living in an urban setting. Finally, cultural ideological divisions (measured with GAL-TAN: Green-Alternative-Libertarian and Traditional-Authoritarian-Nationalist) mediate socio-demographic characteristics when explaining participation.

Implementation of the principle of people’s power: doctrinal principles

The publication examines the doctrinal principles on the forms of direct democracy and the existing problems regarding the exercise of power by the people. Based on the historical perspective of the analysis of European legislation in this area, ways of improving the Basic Law of Ukraine are proposed.
 It was established that, despite the insignificant and contradictory support of the thinkers of the ancient world and the Middle Ages regarding the need to recognize the right of the people to cancel the legislative acts of the representative bodies of the state, this idea received significant development precisely in the era of the New Age, when the proclamation of people’s rule was accompanied by the establishment of parliamentarism, the authority and trust of which is constantly fell among the common people. It has been proven that the essence of such judgments was that modern democracy is based on the idea of popular sovereignty, that is, on the need to create such a system of state-legal relations that would ensure the primacy of law in all spheres of social relations and enable the people to exercise their right to be the source and basis state power precisely because of various forms of political participation in the state management of the country, one of which is participation in the exercise of judicial power.
 It has been determined that the views of thinkers in support of forms of people’s power boil down to the fact that the right to limit state power is recognized as an inalienable, natural human right that belongs to them from birth. Therefore, people’s power itself is one of the means related to the system of checks and balances, and therefore helps not only the normal functioning of state authorities by exercising control over the actions of their representatives, but also the direct exercise of power by the people, which thereby helps to ensure the principle of popular sovereignty.
 It has been established that today the practice of applying forms of direct democracy is significantly ahead of theoretical developments in this area. This very issue is voluminous, and at the same time there are a large number of gaps and contradictions in the possibility of constitutional consolidation of new forms of people’s rule.

Ethical and political consumption: an integrated typology of practices

Addressing the diversity of consumer practices requires perceiving and measuring ethical and political consumerism beyond acts of buycotting and boycotting. By viewing consumption as limited to ‘purchasing’ and ‘shopping’, the agency of the consumer is bound to certain rules and mechanisms of the market, raising questions on the degree of alternativeness of each practice. Arbitrarily ascribing a strictly ‘noneconomic’ motivation behind the ‘ethical’ and ‘political’ framings of consumption results in excluding private (economic) troubles from the public sphere (ignoring thus their political nature). This conceptual article presents a novel analytical tool that maps consumer practices according to two critical conditions within which practices are performed: monetary transaction and legality. An example of how the proposed typology can be applied in the lodging sector demonstrates the typology’s ability to appreciate the diversity found in consumer practices, while also commenting on their degrees of alterity. Overall, the article calls for a reconsideration of the narrow repertoire of consumer action that is often associated with ethical and political consumerism, if we want to understand consumption as an “arena of politics” and a form of political participation in a more democratic manner (where every person gets to “vote”).

Physical health conditions and political participation in Europe: the moderating effects of age

Unequal political participation is widely considered a problem of democratic representation. Citizens with fewer resources typically report lower levels of participation. Lack of good health has been identified as one barrier to participation. However, poor health may have heterogeneous impacts on participation, depending on the type of health issue. Moreover, poor health may affect participation patterns differently, depending on age. Previous research has not yet systematically examined these issues. We address these gaps by using European Social Survey data, which includes self-reports of a variety of physical health conditions and engagement in different forms of political participation. The results show that most physical health conditions are related to political participation; however, except for turnout, physical health problems mobilize individuals into action. This effect is strongest among younger individuals, and the health gap in participation evens out in later life. The condition-specific effects are similar across different forms of physical health conditions. Our findings are consistent with the grievance and identity theories of political participation. Younger citizens, in particular, may experience poor health or physical impairment as unjust and are then mobilized into political action. We discuss the implications for the broader understanding of mechanisms behind political behavior and suggest that health problems are often a motivator for political action rather than an obstacle.

Local Immigrant Councils as a Form of Participation and Governance: How Institutional Design and Agency Matter

 Over the past decades, Western European municipalities increasingly reacted to the presence of immigrants with efforts to include these new residents in local policymaking. As part of this, many cities installed local immigrant councils, allowing newcomers to participate in the political sphere and to bring their needs and interests into the political process. Even though immigrant councils became strongly institutionalized in countries like Germany, their role has been described as ambiguous and their relationship with local authorities as unequal. Existing research has examined immigrant councils as a form of political participation and urban governance and investigated their institutional design and agency of involved actors. Yet, to date, we have little research that systematically links institutional structures and agency of immigrant councils with these bodies’ participation in local policymaking and their collaboration with municipal actors. Based on qualitative research on immigrant councils in two German cities, this article takes a fresh look at this form of immigrant political involvement in cities. It finetunes previous findings by showing that these bodies do not necessarily have to be tokenistic. Strengthening their political rights, countering forms of discrimination and side-lining of immigrant councils and bolstering the ownership of local officials and political leaders for these bodies are three strategies that can support these bodies’ political participation and their role in urban governance.

The Impact of Political Marketing Mix on Repeated Voting Decision in Indonesian General Elections: A Case Study of FEB Universitas Riau Students

Politics is the basic policy of the state administration that is currently and will apply, which is sourced from the values ​​that apply in society to achieve state goals. The purpose of government-run politics is to achieve the welfare of the general public. Elections are a form of political participation as an embodiment of people's sovereignty, because at the time of voting, the people become the most decisive party for the political process in an area by voting directly. This study aims to determine whether the influence of the Political Marketing Mix on the decision to choose repeat voters in General Elections in Indonesia (a case study on FEB students, Universitas Riau). This study applied quantitative research method. The analysis technique used is multiple linear regression with the test equipment using Warp PLS 7.0. The number of samples to be taken as many as 145 respondents with purposive sampling method. The data was collected by distributing online questionnaires. Based on the results of the study, it was found that: 1) Political products have a significant effect on voting decisions. 2) Political Promotion has a significant effect on the Decision to Choose. 3) Political Price has a significant effect on the Decision to Choose. 4) Political distribution has a significant effect on voting decisions

Openness of political structures and gender gaps in protest behaviour in Africa

Protest behaviour has been conceptualized as a high-risk form of political engagement, and it tends to elicit a relatively lower engagement rate than other forms of political participation. In Africa, the risky nature of protests is often complicated by the predominant socio-cultural bias and masculine political norms that hinder women’s political agency. Many of these political systems in Africa are emerging democracies, where women are likely to be marginalized in the civic and political sphere. Using the Afrobarometer data of 2014/2015, this study seeks to examine the impact of the political context on the gender gap in protest behaviour. The study finds that the gender gap in protest behaviour is lower in countries that are politically free and higher in countries with more years of military regimes. These findings offer valuable insights into the political and institutional contexts in which women’s protest behaviour is accentuated and diminished.