Recall
the definition, scope as well as factors
that determine political participation. This having being done, it is also
important to discuss the dimensions that political participation can take in
human societies. Political participation is another way of expressing human
relation with politics.
Take
note that these dimensions are not to be taken as type of political
participation, rather, whether at the level of gladiator or spectator that
basically typifies political participation, any of the dimensions to be
discussed here can be dominant.
Table of content
At
the end of this article you should be able to do the following:
(a)
Distinguish between forms and dimensions of political participation.
(b)
Identify and explain dimensions of political participation.
(c)
Compare and contrast each dimension of political participation.
(d) Be
able to explain the dimension of political participation of your colleagues and
you.
3
Main Dimensions of Political participation
Behaviouralists
of the old regarded political participation mostly as those legal activities
that are permitted by the state for the citizens to use in influencing
leadership, governance and politics. They even seem to assert, almost
sacrosanct, that political participation only occurs in a democratic setting.
But Lam, W. (2003) has asserted that “Political participation refers to lawful
and unlawful activities of supports, making demands, debates and other forms of
expression communicated verbally or through the media, and targeted at the
rulers. He adds that it also includes “activities that are designed to pose
challenges to existing rules, norms and practices”
Operating
from the foregoing sense, political participation is not necessarily those
actions that are legal, violent or non-violent, electoral or not electoral, as
some scholars attempted to cage it. Rather, it is a variety of attitudes that
an individual or a group decides to use to act or react to politics and
policies.
Methods of
political participation are unlimited, and they often depend on several factors
on ground. This is probably why Kayode Eesuola’s study of the political protest
of Fela Anikulapo Kuti of Nigeria concludes that “Actions of political protest
may take several dimensions, ranging from street march, strike, writing, law
suite, song, self-immolation, suicide bombing and so on; all depending on the
socialization, ideological worldview, exposure and skills of the protester, as
well as the prevailing socio-political environment.” To address this complex
issue of political participation and its dimensions, we shall, in this unit,
have three radically opposing classifications.
However,
one main concern is whether people can have two or more, or even mixed
dimension. While it is true that we cannot box human beings to a particular
sacrosanct description, what we often do is identify the dimension that is
dominant, or that constantly occurs in a man, and then identify the man with
it.
In other
words, the dimension of a man’s political participation is nothing from the
dominant one among other that may be traceable to the man:
1.
Conservative versus Radical Political Participation
2.
Active/Passive Political Participation
3.
Aggressive/Non Aggressive Political Participation
Read On: Impacts of Political Socialization on Political Behaviour
1. Conservative
versus Radical Political Participation
We can
perceive political participation from these two opposing dimensions.
Conservative participation has to do with adhering strictly and unquestionably
to the laws and the way it prescribe that people should participate, often with
very poor or no understanding on the part of the participant. It has been
constantly argued that law and rules in any society are often crafted in the
interest of the dominant class though, yet, a conservative participant follows
them almost with malice aforethought. For instance, some countries’
constitutions make voting a compulsory civic responsibility, a norm which
demands that people support the policies of government because they are made in
the interest of all: and it is patriotic to mast national flag and sing
national anthem, and so on. In the reverse however, radical political
participation is what you get where participants do not accept laws and abide
by rules without deliberately querying them. In this case, voting is a civic
responsibility but radical participant will not vote where he perceives
something wrong. Policies of government may only be respected to the extent
that they serve public interests, national flags and national anthems may be
turned down where political circumstances so demand. This dimension of
political participation is radical.
2.
Active/Passive Political Participation
By active
political participation we mean deliberate participation in political
activities with vested interest. Attending a campaign rally to support a
candidate or gain political knowledge, campaigning and voting for the purpose
of ensuring victory for a candidate, attending town and constituency meetings
and other forms of involvement in political activities can all be regarded as
active political participation. Passive political participation, in the
reverse, will refer to withdrawal from all active participations as highlighted
above, getting to the stage of skepticism, cynicism and apathy due to political
disappointment, refusing to act politically in time, and, in the extreme,
becoming apolitical. This is based on the philosophy that even nothing is
something, that is, not participating at all, or participating in ways not
active are still dimensions of participation.
3. Aggressive
versus Non Aggressive Political Participation
This
is the third dimension in which we can perceive political participation. Some
people are, due to socialization and other factors, often more quickly disposed
to aggressive attitude to politics, than others. Such people believe that
actions such as riots, demonstration rallies, arson, terrorism and even
revolution are the best ways of handling political issues. The self-immolation
of Benzuazi of Tunisia in 2010 was an extreme example of aggressive political
participation. In the contrary, some people prefer non aggressive ways such as
campaigning, street talks, writing letters, debates, sit-ins, hunger strike and
so on. Gandhi of India and King Junior of the United States are revered as
advocates of non-violent non aggressive political participation, especially
protest. Gani Fawehinmi and Fela Anikulapo Kuti also are.
Read On: 6 Main Factors Affecting Political Participation
Conclusion
on 3 Main Forms and Dimensions of Political participation
Finally,
political participation does not only refer to concrete human activities, but
also to their psychological orientation or disposition. It refers to the
totality of ways and means through which people react to and relate with issues
in governance and politics. It is neither sacrosanct nor immutable. Rather, it
flows in different dimensions depending of several factors that colour the
personality of participant.
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