Social Structure and Political Participation: Developmental Relationships, II

Abstract

Mass political participation increases as nations become more economically developed. In Part I of this study we attempted to identify the significant social experiences which explain the high levels of participation in economically developed nations. We formulated and explored the following general theory:Economic development alters the social structure of a nation. As nations become more economically developed, three major changes occur: (1) the relative size of the upper and middle classes becomes greater; (2) larger numbers of citizens are concentrated in the urban areas; and (3) the density and complexity of economic and secondary organizations increases. These social changes imply political changes. Greater proportions of the population find themselves in life situations which lead to increased political information, political awareness, sense of personal political efficacy, and other relevant attitudes. These attitude changes, in turn, lead to increases in political participation.The theory can be presented schematically in the following form:We were able to demonstrate that individuals' levels of social status and organizational involvement were strongly and consistently related to their levels of political participation. The survey data from five nations showed, further, that organizational involvement was more strongly related to participation, and more consistently from nation to nation, than was social status.

Learning about Democracy in Africa: Awareness, Performance, and Experience

“…Alternatively, young people may be more open to new ideas, less captured by traditional values, and have more time for political participation (Milbrath and Goel, 1977;Wolfinger and Rosenstone, 1980;Niemi and Barkan, 1987;and Seligson and Booth, 1996;). Residential location is also conventionally singled out as a key factor since rural and urban people are exposed to varying levels of diversity and competition in intellectual and public life (Nie, Powell and Prewitt, 1969). Some commentators portray rural Africans as mere "subjects," who are marginalized from public life and repressed by customary law and traditional authority (Mamdani, 1996).…”

“…Partisan identification, especially with the winning party, can lead to greater satisfaction with democracy (Anderson and Guillory, 1997). Moreover, membership in civic or religious organizations lends shape to the attitudes, practices and skills that individuals apply in other, larger political arenas (Nie, Powell and Prewitt, 1969;Cohen and Rogers, 1992;Brady, Verba and Schlozman, 1995;McDonough, Shin and Moisés, 1998;Shin, 1999; but also see Waltz, 1990). …”

Political involvement and democracy : how benign is the future of post-industrial politics?

“…Beginning in the 1960s, researchers have more intensively focused on how social group belonging (age, gender, race, religion) determines the extent of participation in political life (e.g. Lane 1959;Lipset 1959;Milbrath 1965;Nie et al 1969). These various indicators of social status were later systematically combined and developed into the standard socioeconomic model of participation by the Verba Group (Verba and Nie 1972;Verba et al 1978), which has influenced much of the subsequent work in the field of participation research.…”

“…Almond & Verba 1963;Nie et al 1969). Relevant political orientations and skills include political interest, political information, perceived own political competence (or internal political efficacy), as well as positive attitudes towards various elements of the political system, including support for democracy as a system of government, trust in its core institutions, and satisfaction with political officials' performance.…”

“…Later, another group of researchers provided research on participation with the insight that the effect of socioeconomic resources on political participation is not a direct one, but it is mediated primarily through political skills and attitudes (Nie et al 1969). This means that factors such as education level, age or gender form the to some scholars, the relationship between education and turnout works through intervening factors; education fosters the feeling of civic duty to vote and helps individuals attain basic political knowledge and skills that make voting more likely (Wolfinger & Rosenstone 1980: 18).…”