Political Group Membership Research Articles

Social Media and Politics : the Potential of Social Media for Education and Civic Engagement

This paper looks at the links between educating people and getting involved in politics to show how social media can help these areas. This study looks into how online social networks make it easier for people to get involved in politics in ways other than voting. This study looks at how social media affects democratic accountability, information sharing, and public participation by using ideas from organisational studies, media studies, and political science. This study looks into how young Jordanians' use of social media affects their voting habits, their membership in political groups, and their involvement in protests. This study uses quantitative analysis of poll data to show that among Jordanian teens and young adults aged 18 to 30, there are strong links between being politically active and using social media. The results show that social media can help young people become more publicly active, informed, and involved. However, polarisation and false information can also make this harder. Because gender affects the link between political participation and social media use, it is important to use targeted strategies that aim to reduce demographic differences. According to the study, social media can have an effect on current politics. It also calls for smart use of social media to avoid any bad effects.

A Meta-Analysis on the Link Between Young People’s Social Environment, Socioeconomic Status, and Political Violence Outcomes

Young people are particularly likely to engage in political violence, hold positive attitudes towards political violence, and show willingness to engage in political violence. The social environment in which young people are immersed is characterized by factors increasing and protecting against the risk of such outcomes. The present meta-analysis systematically summarizes the body of studies on the link between political violence outcomes and risk and protective variables in the following domains: a) parents and family (familial support, familial conflict, parental control, importance of family, parental violence), b) radical networks and peers (having friends with racist or violent attitudes, membership in political groups that oppose mainstream politics, general membership in a peer group), c) school (school attachment, school achievement), and d) socioeconomic status. A total of 288 effect sizes from 44 reference samples met the selection criteria. Findings were combined using two- and three-level meta-analytic models. Average effect sizes ranged between very small to small (|r| = .03 to |r| = .26), with the largest effect sizes detected for membership in a political group that opposes mainstream politics and having friends with racist or violent attitudes. The results are constrained by the low number of eligible samples and the significant level of heterogeneity for many of the meta-analyses.

Friendship and romance across the U.S. political divide: Hindrance or help for outgroup political attitudes?

AbstractConsistent with the intergroup contact literature, cross‐political relationships (e.g., friendships or romantic relationships between different partisans) may help reduce inter‐political group prejudice. Given that unfavorable attitudes based on the political group membership are particularly heightened at present in the United States, we explored whether having cross‐political friendships (Study 1) or romantic relationships (Study 2) predict more positive interpersonal or intergroup attitudes among American Democrats and Republicans. In Study 1, using a social network measure (N = 301), where participants reported on their closest friends, cross‐political (versus same‐political) friendship was associated with less positive interpersonal attitudes when this relationship was unsatisfying. Having any (versus no) or more (versus less) cross‐political group friendships was not associated with holding more positive intergroup attitudes. In Study 2, cross‐political romantic relationships were examined (N = 392). Having a cross‐ (versus same‐) political romantic relationship was associated with relatively less positive attitudes toward the political outgroup via lower empathy when relationship satisfaction was low. Study findings highlight the potential limitations of the beneficial effects of intergroup contact.

“How do you like them now?” Expected reactions upon discovering that a friend is a political out-group member

Republican or Democrat participants imagined how they would respond upon learning about the political group membership of a potential or established friend. Four vignettes (friend political in-group; friend political out-group; potential friend political in-group; potential friend political out-group) were presented in a random order. After each, participants provided expected reactions. Overall, reactions (e.g., hope of the relationship lasting, intentions to engage in friendship maintenance behaviors, trust) were most positive toward the established in-group friend, followed by potential in-group friend, then the established out-group friend, and lastly the potential out-group friend. That is, participants expected to be more positive toward a person they just met than an established close friend, simply due to knowing these individuals’ political group memberships. Some of these differences were moderated by intergroup attitudes or political identification. Discoveries of political group membership may influence the development or maintenance of friendships.

Farm animal welfare policymaking in the European Parliament – a social identity perspective on voting behaviour

ABSTRACT Sustainable agriculture implies trade-offs with farm animal welfare. Proposals to increase agricultural productivity and ecological sustainability alike, are often linked to intensification, which may restrict animal welfare. Despite the growing importance of farm animal welfare for the alignment of agricultural and environmental policy, determinants of decision-making at the EU level remain unexplored. This article contributes to closing this research gap, broadening our understanding of why policymakers vote for the enactment of animal welfare policies. Applying the Social Identities in the Policy Process (SIPP) perspective we highlight the role of group membership for individual decision-making. By means of a quantitative analysis of voting behaviour in the European Parliament on two animal welfare policies, we show that different identities are salient. The strongest predictor is political group membership. In case of defections from the group line, the salience of national, sectoral and also demographic identities adds to the understanding of decision-making.

Beyond the Believer-Citizen Dilemma in a Polity: a Membership Approach

The article discusses the priority of belonging to a particular community and identification with it. The authors believe that among the entire set of communities, membership in political groups should be a priority, and their membership in state political communities should be higher than territorial, ethnic, religious, linguistic and other differences. However, the devotion of religious believers to an international religious community that does not know official state borders can exceed their devotion to the state as the main political institution. Consequently, they can become a centrifugal force that threatens the solidarity of political unity. The authors define this conflict as the “believer-citizen” dilemma, which poses serious challenges in the field of nation building in China. Based on the concept of related identities, the article analyzes and explains the existing dilemma “believer – citizen” from the position of simultaneous inclusion in various social groups. The authors suggest that such an approach, involving the analysis of membership in several social groups, is useful for constructing solutions to this dilemma. In conclusion, the authors conclude that religion has many opportunities for the upbringing of civic virtues. Ethical principles such as kindness, tolerance, and empathy are widespread in various religions, and they have indeed become universally recognized human virtues. In this sense, believers can also be good citizens and at the same time fulfill their religious and civic duties, which will not contradict each other. For religious fundamentalists, on the other hand, an extreme form of religious identity can undermine their social life. How to create institutions based on honesty and justice, how to build reliable and correct strategies for constructing identities in order to promote self-identification from citizenships and reduce identification based on extreme religious movements, as well as how to use religious identity to create a civic identity on its basis – these are the biggest problems in state building.

Love, convenience, or respectability? Understanding the alliances of the Five Star Movement in the European Parliament

The Five Star Movement (M5S) formed the Eurosceptic Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group when it first elected its members in the European Parliament (EP) in 2014. Two and a half years later, the M5S sought, without success, to leave the Eurosceptics and join the Liberal group. This attempted a change of transnational affiliation is puzzling: why has the M5S tried to leave the Eurosceptic group to ally with the most Europhile group in the EP? How could this U-turn be explained? Relying on several different data – the EUANDI party data set, official EP data, and original interviews with members of the EP – this article provides a systematic answer to these questions. We test three general hypotheses on group membership in the EP, using the M5S as a case study. We show that neither policy congruence nor the pursuit of office fully explains the M5S’s observed or attempted alliances. We suggest, instead, that ‘domestic politics’ is the key driver of the M5S’s behaviour in the EP. Political group membership is functional to the Movement’s strategic objectives at home. This article shows that national-level explanations of transnational affiliation need to be given more consideration, and highlights the ‘second-order’ importance of the EU arena with respect to ‘first-order’ national strategic objectives.

The Relationship between Social Capital and Political Participation

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between social capital and political participation. The calibration method was used in this study. The population of the research was the staff of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Customs of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1394. The sample size was 200 participants. The sampling method was simple random sampling to access the participants easily. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. To measure the political participation among staff, 22 items was used. The questionnaire was divided into five levels: participation in voting, electoral activities, contact with politicians, protest activities of political groups, and membership in political groups. A questionnaire was used to measure the social capital, includes 19 items and three dimensions; social trust, social participation and social links. Face and content validity of the questionnaire were evaluated by experts. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated for each variable over 7/0, and reliability was approved. To analyze the data, t- student test of one sample and the stepwise multiple regressions was used at a significance level that was less than 05/0, through SPSS 19. The results showed that the average political participation and all aspects of social capital was above the average for a given (3). This indicates that the level of political participation and the social capital in the study population was in good condition. As well, the results showed that, totally, three independent variables (social belonging, social participation and social trust) formed 35.5 percent of the dependent variables. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2s1p136

Consenso y divergencias en las representaciones sociales de la dirigencia política

Se analiza descriptivamente la faceta consensual y diferencial de las representaciones socialessobre la dirigencia política, en base a una muestra de estudiantes de la Facultad de Psicología y en la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)-Argentina. Los resultados muestran un universo representacional en tensión caracterizado por componentes nucleares contrarios: Liderazgo y Representación versus Poder y Corrupción; y por dimensiones opuestas: Características/Aspectos Políticos Positivos versus Características/Aspectos Políticos Negativos, así como por conglomerados primordiales concordantes con estas últimas. Se observan también diferencias en función de variables como año de cursado, militancia en agrupaciones políticas estudiantiles, antecedentes de participación política en la Universidad y cargos/figuras políticas de diversa índole.

National parties and group membership in the European Parliament: ideology or pragmatism?

This contribution investigates the factors behind political group membership in the European Parliament. In June 2009, more than 150 national parties, from the 27 member countries, joined one of the seven transnational groupings. Two main explanations for group membership are advanced. A first, traditional argument is based on the ideological or policy compatibility of the member parties. National parties will join the political group that best matches their programmatic position. A second argument focuses, instead, on the structure of incentives in the Parliament, positing that the pragmatic goals of national parties are better advanced by joining the largest and most influential groups. These arguments are tested by fitting a multinomial logit model for political group ‘choice’ based on the 2009 Euromanifestos data. The findings suggest that ideological compatibility is the most important factor behind transnational affiliation, even if some caution is needed for the ‘new’, post-communist members.

Facebook and political engagement: A study of online political group membership and offline political engagement

In what ways do online groups help to foster political engagement among citizens? We employ a multi-method design incorporating content analysis of online political group pages and original survey research of university undergraduates (n=455) to assess the relationship between online political group membership and political engagement—measured through political knowledge and political participation surrounding the 2008 election. We find that participation in online political groups is strongly correlated with offline political participation, as a potential function of engaging members online. However, we fail to confirm that there is a corresponding positive relationship between participation in online political groups and political knowledge, likely due to low quality online group discussion.

Schooling and Citizenship: Evidence from Compulsory Schooling Reforms

This paper examines whether schooling has a positive impact on individual's political interest, voting turnout, democratic values, political involvement and political group membership, using the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS). Between 1949 and 1969 the number of compulsory years of schooling was increased from eight to nine years in the Federal Republic of Germany, gradually over time and across federal states. These law changes allow one to investigate the causal impact of years of schooling on citizenship. Years of schooling are found to be positively correlated with a broad range of political outcome measures. However, when exogenous increase in schooling through law changes is used, there is no evidence of a causal effect running from schooling to citizenship in Germany.

Political and religious group membership, value priorities and educational values

Value priorities and educational value patterns are explored in respect to university students’ active membership to religious and political groups. The sample was 117 students of the University of Athens, Greece, with 39 of them being active members of Christian Orthodox religious groups, 34 active members of political groups or unions, and 44 students acting as the ‘control’ group, since they were not members of such religious or political groups. Group membership—religious or political—was found to be associated with the systems of value priorities and educational values, with specific value combinations differentiating between religious group membership and political group membership.

The Greening of the Globe? Cross-national Levels of Environmental Group Membership

Is the environmental movement still growing in members? What explains cross-national levels of environmental mobilisation? This article addresses these questions using data from the new 1999–2002 wave of the World Values Survey. We describe the membership levels in environmental groups across nations, and then examine rival explanations for why membership is concentrated in certain nations although environmental concerns exist globally. We first find that environmental groups represent one of the most common forms of political group membership on a global scale, and membership levels are increasing. We also demonstrate that the combination of social and political conditions in advanced industrial democracies is a strong predictor of environmental group membership levels.

Private Prayer and Civic Involvement

We analyze the relationship between private prayer and participation in voluntary association. We argue that prayer fosters a cognitive connection to the needs of others, and thus promotes membership in associations that emphasize personal relationships. Private prayer is not related to membership in political groups. The effect of prayer is strengthened by membership in religious groups, suggesting the relevance of both organizational and devotional aspects of religion for civil society participation.

Sex Differences in Political Activity in Britain

Using survey data from 1963 and 1974, the analysis explores the relative rates of political participation of British men and women in a number of conventional political parties. As in the U.S. case, in Britain men and women do participate at about the same rates in a number of activities, including voting, party identification, party membership and activity, and political group membership and activity. On the other hand, more males than females claim interest in politics. Several explanations are discussed for these findings, and comparisons are made with findings from other nations.

Class and Conformity: The Case of Political Socialization

Recent studies of political socialization have failed to find a relationship between socioeconomic origins and the political orientations of American youth (Braungart, 1971; Dunlap, 1970;Tygart and Holt, 1971). This has come as a surprise, especially to those who hypothesize a class basis for political ideologies (See Orum and Cohen, 1973: 63, for example), and yet the finding has occurred with enough consistency that some confidence can be placed in its validity. While explanations for political orientations based on socioeconomic origin have received little recent empirical support, explanations based on the influence of parents have been relatively successful (Westby and Braungart, 1966; Jennings and Niemi, 1968; Thomas, 1971). When both parents' political orientation and socioeconomic status are included as predictors of the political orientation of students, the results have shown that the influence of parents exists while the effect of socioeconomic status does not (Braungart, 1971; Dunlap, 1970). As Braungart (1971: 127) concludes: Such findings indicate that the study of student politics in the past has overemphasized social class as being one of the most crucial determiners of democratic family socialization and student political group membership or identification when, in fact, this may not be the case. That parents have a strong influence on the political ideas of their children is not an unexpected finding. Parents are the earliest reference group an individual looks to for cues to correct behavior. In daily communication a parent transmits a particular set of values to his child, among which are included political ideologies. Consequently, the first political orientations a person is exposed to are those of his parents. By the time an individual meets other people, forms peer groups, and regards others as significant reference groups, his own political orientation has already begun to develop. Easton and Dennis (1967) studied the acquisition of political norms among 12,000 children between the ages of seven and thirteen. They found that political