The Special Case of Online Activism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell J. Dalton
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Online Activity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Internet Activism ◽  
Online Activism ◽  
Special Case ◽  
Previous Scholarship

Previous scholarship has offered mixed opinions on how online activism will change patterns of political participation. Surveys of Americans in 2008 and 2012 provide empirical evidence on how people use the internet as a method of political participation. In some instances, internet activism substitutes for traditional offline forms of participation. But the opportunity for online participation also increases the active share of the public. As with other participation modes, the better educated are more likely to use online activity, which can further widen the participation gap. Social media are further changing how citizens participate in the political process by connecting individuals with shared political interests into communities of action.

scholarly journals Citizens local political participation in the Czech Republic: rural-urban comparison

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 21-29
Author(s):  
J. Cmejrek
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Local Administration ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Public

The Velvet Revolution in November 1989 in the former Czechoslovakia opened the way to the renewal of the democratic political system. One of the most visible aspects of the Czech political development consisted in the renewal of the essential functions of elections and political parties. On the local level, however, the political process - as well as in other post-communist countries - continued to be for a long time influenced by the remains of the former centralized system wherein the local administration used to be subjected to the central state power. Municipal elections took hold in these countries, however, the local government remained in the embryonic state and a certain absence of real political and economic decision-making mechanism on the local level continued to show. The public administration in the Czech Republic had to deal with the changes in the administrative division of the state, the split of the Czechoslovak federation as well as the fragmentation of municipalities whose number increased by 50 percent. Decision making mechanisms on the local and regional level were suffering from the incomplete territorial hierarchy of public administration and from the unclear division of power between the state administration and local administration bodies. Only at the end of the 1990s, the public administration in the Czech Republic started to get a more integrated and specific shape. Citizens participation in the political process represents one of the key issues of representative democracy. The contemporary democracy has to face the decrease in voter turnout and the low interest of citizens to assume responsibility within the political process. The spread of democratising process following the fall of the iron curtain should not overshadow the risk of internal weakness of democracy. The solution should be looked for in more responsible citizenship and citizens’ political participation. The degree of political participation is considered (together with political pluralism) to be the key element of representative democracy in general terms, as well as of democratic process on the local and regional level. The objective of this paper is to describe the specifics of citizens local political participation in the Czech Republic and to show the differences between rural and urban areas. The paper concentrates on voting and voter turnout but deals also with other forms of citizens political participation.

Citizen now: responding politically

Citizen Now ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Matto
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
The Political ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The Public ◽  
Technological Tools

This chapter addresses the nature of the featured groups’ activities, the targets of their actions, the context out of which these actions arise, and the effects of these efforts. This qualitative approach is appropriate when theoretical frameworks aren't doing an adequate job of explaining, predicting and understanding a phenomenon - youth political participation in this case. Although shaped by their missions, structures, and resources, this research suggests that the groups engage in a variety of actions meant to raise awareness, serve the public, and influence the political process. Although they make use of the technological tools of their generation, their actions are in line with traditional conceptions of political action with attention to their outcomes and impact.

Facing the Challenge of Democracy

2011 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Thinking ◽  
Democratic Representation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Party Polarization

Citizens are political simpletons—that is only a modest exaggeration of a common characterization of voters. Certainly, there is no shortage of evidence of citizens' limited political knowledge, even about matters of the highest importance, along with inconsistencies in their thinking, some glaring by any standard. But this picture of citizens all too often approaches caricature. This book brings together leading political scientists who offer new insights into the political thinking of the public, the causes of party polarization, the motivations for political participation, and the paradoxical relationship between turnout and democratic representation. These studies propel a foundational argument about democracy. Voters can only do as well as the alternatives on offer. These alternatives are constrained by third players, in particular activists, interest groups, and financial contributors. The result: voters often appear to be shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent because the alternatives they must choose between are shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent.

On Hearing the Daughters’ Call

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-155
Author(s):  
Elva Orozco Mendoza ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Public Performance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
Political Theories ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Maternal Activism ◽  
The Human Condition

This article offers an interpretation of anti-feminicide maternal activism as political in northern Mexico by analyzing it alongside Hannah Arendt’s concepts of freedom, natality, and the child in The Human Condition. While feminist theorists often debate whether maternalism strengthens or undermines women’s political participation, the author offers an unconventional interpretation of Arendt’s categories to illustrate that the meaning and practice of maternalism radically changes through the public performance of motherhood. While Arendt does not seem the best candidate to navigate this debate, her concepts of freedom and the child provide a productive perspective to rethink the relationship between maternalism and citizenship. In making this claim, this article challenges feminist political theories that depict motherhood as the chief source of women’s subordination. In the case of northern Mexico, anti-feminicide maternal activism illustrates how the political is also a personal endeavor, thereby complementing the famous feminist motto.

scholarly journals Minister-Permanent Secretary Relationships: Lessons from Zimbabwe’s Government of national Unity

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Tawanda Zinyama ◽  
Joseph Tinarwo
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
The State ◽  
Team Work ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Unity ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

Public administration is carried out through the public service. Public administration is an instrument of the State which is expected to implement the policy decisions made from the political and legislative processes. The rationale of this article is to assess the working relationships between ministers and permanent secretaries in the Government of National Unity in Zimbabwe. The success of the Minister depends to a large degree on the ability and goodwill of a permanent secretary who often has a very different personal or professional background and whom the minster did not appoint. Here lies the vitality of the permanent secretary institution. If a Minister decides to ignore the advice of the permanent secretary, he/she may risk of making serious errors. The permanent secretary is the key link between the democratic process and the public service. This article observed that the mere fact that the permanent secretary carries out the political, economic and social interests and functions of the state from which he/she derives his/her authority and power; and to which he/she is accountable,  no permanent secretary is apolitical and neutral to the ideological predisposition of the elected Ministers. The interaction between the two is a political process. Contemporary administrator requires complex team-work and the synthesis of diverse contributions and view-points.

scholarly journals Political participation of the chinese youth in market economy and implication on communist youth league

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 2489-2498
Author(s):  
Rakesh Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Youth Organizations ◽  
Chinese Youth ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Communist Youth League

Political participation entails citizens’ engagement to exert influence on the political process and policies in a desired direction. Therein, participation of the youth has significance as a transient yet constantly receiving community with potential to shape the course of history in any society. The activities and functions of youth organizations have been pivotal in effecting changes in the twentieth century Asian socio-political and economic realms. Under the similar circumstances, the People’s Republic of China appears to be continuously evolving its social, economic, political and cultural regimes in response to the fluctuating demands of the citizens and the youth. This Essay fathoms changes in political participations of the youth in China, its implication on the Communist Youth League and how the Communist Youth League responds in the era of Market Economy.

Mobilisierung zu politischer Partizipation durch das Internet: Erwartungen, Erkenntnisse und Herausforderungen der Forschung

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Escher
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Information Communication ◽  
The Public ◽  
State Of Research ◽  
Politically Active

AbstractThis article is focusing on the state of research into the extent to which the opportunities for information, communication and participation opened up by the Internet have led to greater mobilisation of the public for political participation. After briefly presenting the diversity of conflicting expectations towards the Internet’s role for the political process, the article discusses the relevance of digital media as a means for mobilising greater and more equal political participation from a liberal-representative perspective on democracy. At the core of the article is a discussion of the last 15 years of research empirically testing the mobilisation hypothesis as well as the theories proposed to explain the observed participation patterns. What becomes dear is that the Internet does indeed slightly increase rates of political participation but with few exceptions those newly mobilised come from parts of the population that are already politically active. At the same time, the explanations still exhibit considerable gaps that remain to be dosed. To this end future research needs to address a number of challenges which are discussed in the final section of the article.

Decision Rules and Policy Outcomes

1971 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Rae ◽  
Michael Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Decision Rules ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Legislative Voting ◽  
The Public

Contemporary political science is rightly concerned with the complex relationship between the political process and the public policies in which it results. In understanding this relationship, it may be useful to distinguish two complementary aspects of the political process: (1) those which are relevant because they account for the policy preferences of elite-members and, (2) those elements, like voting and bargaining, which are of interest because they determine policy outcomes from given configurations of elite preferences. This paper offers a theoretical model for an important component of this second aspect: it is explicitly addressed to legislative voting processes and the underlying strategies of legislators as these contribute to the determination of policy outcomes. And, for the present, we take preference-formation as given.

"May the Best Man Win": Local Government Representatives

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Osnat Akirav
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Political Leader ◽  
Local Council ◽  
Talented People

The research asks two questions related to each other. First, why do people who are successful in fields other than politics not want to become more active in politics? Second, what are the preferred characteristics of a political leader? In order to address these questions we conducted an action research involving changes in the patterns of political participation and used Dror’s (2008) model to determine the preferred characteristics of a political leader. The research, the first in its kind in the field of local government field, tried to create professional change and system change. Today, a year after the action research began; it deepens our understanding about how local council members work and allows us to implement changes based on an evaluation process in order to improve the decision-making process in the local government. Eventually, perhaps this process will attract talented people who have previously avoided political participation to engage more with the political process.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document