Recall
that in the previous post we asserted that political socialization of a people
determines their attitudes and values towards politics, that is, whether they
participate at all or not, the dimensions of their participation, the degree
and the period.
This
is what we broadly defined as political behavior of people. Here we now focus
on political participation.
The article is divided into two parts, the first covering an array of definitions of political participation by known scholars, while the second addresses its main scope.
Table of Content
After reading this post,
you should be able to:
(a) Define political
participation from various scholarly viewpoints
(b)
Discuss the main scope of political participation
Definitions of Political Participation
Like
most political science concepts, political participation has attracted several definitions
and meanings from several scholars. Some of these definitions are generic, that
is, they try as much as possible to capture all aspects and dimensions in which
people can participate in politics.
Some are however limited,
in that they discriminate against some aspects of participation as irregular or
abnormal.
We consider a few of them
in what follows. While the following definition is seemingly restrictive:
1. Political participation
refers to those legal activities by private citizens which are more or less
directly aimed at influencing the selection of government personnel and/or the
actions they take (Norman H. Nie and Sidney Verba).
What follows here is a
group of broader senses of meaning.
2. The activity of private
citizens designed to influence government decision making. (Samuel Huntington
and Jorge Dominguez).
3. Those voluntary
activities by which members of society share in the selection of rulers and,
directly or indirectly, in the formation of public policy (H. McClosky).
4. Political participation derives from the
freedom to speak out, assemble and associate; the ability to take part in the
conduct of public affairs; and the opportunity to register as a candidate, to
campaign, to be elected and to hold office at all levels of government.
What
is of utmost important to contemporary study of political behaviour is that
political participation can include both legal and illegal attempts to
influence governmental decisions. It is concerned with influencing the composition
and conduct, or personnel and policies. It is not limited to voting at
elections but includes many other ways in which citizens try to influence
governmental decisions. It is based on this that we discuss in what follows,
the various dimensions that political participation can take in human society.
Scope of Political
Participation
By scope of political
participation we main those broad of activities that political participation
covers, or that can be regarded as forms of political participation. When
people campaign for candidates during elections, or they attend constituency
meetings or cast their ballot during voting period, we often consider their
actions as political participation. Remember however, that not doing all these,
or doing them for certain reasons are also forms of participation in politics.
A renowned professor of philosophy, Jim Una once wrote that “even nothing is anything”
and a very popular slogan in party electioneering politics is that “failure to
vote for a candidate is a ballot cast for the opponent of the candidate”.
Based on this logic, the
scope of political participation shall be bi patterned: direct or action based,
as well as indirect or attitude based political activities.
1. Direct or action based
Political Activities:
These activities refer to
those that people deliberately engage in as standards of participation in
politics. They include voting, attendance of meetings, campaigning, sponsorship
of candidates, money and material donation, attending rallies and committee
meetings, etc. These actions are clear cut, and need no further interpretation
before they are recognized as forms of political participation. Those who
participate in them often have defined political goals, even when not
disclosed.
2. Indirect or Attitude
Based Political Participation:
These
refer to people’s attitudes and dispositions that indirectly influence politics
around them. This form of political participation is not necessarily clear cur,
and it is often unclear if those who display them are aware of their impact as
political participation. These attitudes include but are not limited to
agitation, resistance, apathy, endorsement, docility, skepticism, cynicism,
etc. Those who display résistance attitude towards politics for instance
complement chance of leadership in extra electoral forms, while apathetic
persons allow other citizens have field days fielding and electing their own
candidates. If they apathetical person had voted, his vote only could make any
difference in number, and as he or she refuses to vote, the attitude displayed
increases the chances of a candidate in opposition. This aspect is also covered
by political participation.
Conclusion on Definitions and Scope of Political Participation
In
conclusion, political participation is a concrete activity or behaviour, and
not simply a psychological orientation or disposition as political culture and
socialization. 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, but its scope covers both direct (action based), and
indirect (attitude based) participation.
We
have, in the above discussion, defined political participation from the
legalist and liberal perspectives.
We
asserted that political participation covers both legal and anti-legal
activities. After this we explored the scope of political participation.
In
specific terms, we identified two scopes: Please note that these are dimensions
not levels or categories. Political participation still has dimensions and
levels, and they will be addressed in other article.