Apart
from the forms which focus on the interpretation of attitudes as participating
in politics, political participation can also occur at various levels. Getting
involved in political participation entails costs in time, energy and
resources, yet individuals and groups differ in the amount of resources that
they are able or willing to devote to political participation.
Thus,
while most people engage in one kind of political participation or another, not
all persons are able to participate in politics to the same degree. In other
words, participation of some people can be more holistic than others. These
levels of participation shall be discussed in this post.
Read On: Definitions, Examples and Factors Affecting Political Socialization
Table of Content
At the end
of this post you should be able to:
(a)
Understand that political participation occurs at different levels
(b)
Identify the different level of political participation
In his 1965 book titled Political
Participation, Lester Malbraith, categorized political participation at the
spectator-level, the transitional level and the gladiatorial level. This unit
shall use this categorization in anti-climax, and will also attempt certain activities
that are corresponding to them.
Read On: Impacts of Political Socialization on Political Behaviour
The Different Level of Political Participation
1. Gladiatorial political participation
2. Transitorial Political Participation
3. Spectatorial Political Participation
1. Gladiatorial political participation
This is
the highest level of political participation a man can attain in a society.
People who participate at this level engage in activities such as presenting
themselves as candidates for political offices, or holding the offices at
particular times, getting financial grants from political parties for the
purpose of elections, and politicking through caucus formations, faction
formation or kitchen cabinet. Political participation at this level takes so
much time and resources that those engaged in them hardly do other things aside
politics. So, if you look around you today, those people like your country’s
president, governors, senators, presidential and gubernatorial aspirants as
well as other very active political figures even at the local government
levels, can be considered participants of politics at gladiatorial level. They
can also be called members of the political class, and they constitute about 5
percent of the population of any political community.
2. Transitorial Political Participation
Transitorial
political participation is next in hierarchy to the gladiatorial. Participants
at this level often engage in activities that mostly facilitate ground for gladiatorial
participants most likely with the hope of getting political appointment after
their candidates are successful.
People who
participate at transitorial level are often very charismatic as much as
gladiatorial participants, but due to lack of other political logistics such as
money, zoning, godfathers’ preferences (where they play active roles in
politics), and such people may choose to work behind the scene. Major
activities at the level of transitorial participation are meeting organization
and attendance, communication, advocacy and campaigns, liaising with incumbent
power, as well as making of monetary donations to candidates at the
gladiatorial level.
3. Spectatorial Political Participation
Spectatorial
political participation includes but is not limited to voting, attending
campaign rallies, displaying party symbols and influencing friends and family
to vote in certain direction. These are activities that every citizen is
expected to engage in as civil responsibility, aside from those having some
things at stake. This kind of participation is quite common amongst people. It
is relatively less expensive in terms of time and resources, so, it a
majoritarian kind of political participation.
Conclusion on Levels of Political Participation and their Corresponding Activities
Our
conclusion is that political participation is a diverse and complex process
which embraces a wide range of activities. Lester Malbraith classified these
activities into spectatorial, transitional and gladiatorial, each one unique to
the population and class that are likely to engage in it. Specifically,
majority of people participate at the spectatorial level because it is cheaper
and less time demanding, then it flows up like that.
Participation
in politics comes at different levels. There are the spectatorial, transitorial
and gladiatorial levels of political participation in every society, and each
of the levels comes with its cost and capabilities.
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