...Essay : To what extent does democracy in the UK suffer from a ‘participation crisis’? Political participation is defined as opportunities for and tendencies of the people to become involved in the political process. At a minimum level this will involve voting, but may also involve active work in political parties and pressure groups. At the higher/highest level it implies standing for public office. However with regards to the United Kingdom suffering from a participation crisis, I would like to agree. Simply because, there has been a low turnout at general elections, which undermines the mandate of the government and threatens the idea that the UK is a representative democracy. Between 1922 and 1997 turnout remained above 71%. At the 2001 general election the turnout was59.4%; in 2005 it was 61.4%; in 2010 it was 65.1%; and in 2015 it was66.1%. Various people may consider the minor increase in percentage but overall there has not been a significant increase. Key forms of participation, such as voting and party membership have declined significantly over time, but other newer, faster forms have arisen and are slowly becoming more popular to the newer generations such as Referendums, particularly in Scotland. Popular engagement with the formal processes and institutions of democracy has been in long – term decline since the 1960’s. The turnout in 2001 was the lowest; this is compared to how between 1945 and 1992 it was always about 75 percent. Through this, it can be seen that...
Words: 1334 - Pages: 6
...INTRODUCTION The role of women in politics and public affairs is one of the current governance issues because of the perceived and acknowledged potential and contribution of women to governance processes. Participating effectively and meaningfully in order to have an impact is a process of empowerment that enhances self-worth of individuals and groups at the political level. There is no disputing the fact the number of women is seeing a steady growth from local government level in particular especially in the number of contestants and actual elected women. At the national level, particularly in the legislature, the picture has not seen much significant change since 1996. This reflects strongly in the composition of the membership of standing committees and selected committees of parliament where real debate on legislative issues takes place. Certainly, this affects the contribution of women to the policy making process. At the political party level , although all the parties selected for the study which are the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) except for the Great Consolidated People’s Party (GCPP), make claims in their manifestoes to their commitment to gender issues in general and women’s concerns in particular, it is not very evident even in their party leadership structure and in their own internal organization. Some party leaders corroborated this by stating...
Words: 9422 - Pages: 38
...AN INVESTIGATION ON HOW THE PEOPLE IN BELVEDERE CAN GET INVOLVED IN THE LAW MAKING PROCESS AND DEMOCRATIC VALUES OBJECTIVES * To state how one can convince everyone above the age of eighteen in Belvedere to participate in the law making process * To study factors affecting the full participation of the people living in belvedere. * To state how gender affects the law making process. * To state why public participation is important to democracy. * To suggest way in which implementation of the involvement of the community can be ensured and be democratic. METHODOLOGY The researcher engaged into mouth to mouth survey and researches from the internet plus books. By this the researcher asked people in the community in a systematic way were by she skipped every three houses before she could get into a question and answer situation. The researcher encountered people with an ignorant attitude who turned down such an interview and the major problem lies on the honesty of the person being interviewed as it is his or her own point of view. The researcher took into account most of the things which involved the survey from the articles of newspapers. FINDINGS Factors affecting the full participation of the people As adamant as people are most of them deliberately take being involved as a waste of time, or consumption of the wrong time at the wrong moment cause of the after effect of the post 2007-9 era. Most of the...
Words: 2146 - Pages: 9
...Introduction The political system of society in the most general view can be determined as a system of the state bodies and non-state social institutes performing certain political functions. As the phenomenon of self-control of society, stabilisation of the social processes proceeding in it, a modern political system provides effective carrying out a domestic and foreign policy of the state, creates, expresses interests of various social groups. It represents a fundamental line item and is the base of maintenance of the legitimate power existing in the country. Literature Review The essence of political system most brightly comes to light through a prism of implementable functions in society. In the most simplified type they can be characterized...
Words: 936 - Pages: 4
...President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. -Theodore Roosevelt ! ! ! ! Patriotism means to stand by and support your country. The source above is a quote by Theodore Roosevelt where he argues that patriotism does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official whether he is right or wrong. Roosevelt believes that it is patriotic to support the president insofar as he efficiently serves the country. When citizens disagree with the president, Roosevelt states that it is the citizens responsibility to express their thought and belief, so the president can efficiently serve the people. We should embrace the ideological perspective reflected by Theodore Roosevelt because a country requires active citizenship and political participation, such as voting, in order to prosper as a democratic country. Liberalism is a doctrine that stresses individual rights and freedoms, limited government, and respects human rationality and reason. The ideology expressed in the quotation from Roosevelt, embodies liberalism because it is in favour with individual rights and freedoms of citizens. Roosevelt supports political participation, which is citizens getting involved in the political process, such as through voting, running as a candidate, supporting a candidate, attending constituency meetings, speaking out, demonstrating, protesting,...
Words: 807 - Pages: 4
...Professor Butler POLS 2301.04 April 24, 2015 The Importance of Having a Voice and Getting Out To Vote Throughout this semester I’ve learned a great deal of information on various subject areas. I’ve also gained more political knowledge than I had prior to taking this course. Of the many chapters discussed during this course, I found Parties and Elections in Texas (chapter 21), Public Opinion (chapter 6), and Political Participation and Voting (chapter 8) to be the most interesting and informative. Parties and Elections in Texas Political parties play a major role in Texas politics. Approximately 91 percent of Texas voters either identify with or lean toward the Republican or the Democratic Party. Despite all of the complaints about parties, they perform roles that are critical to the operation of our democratic system and to the overall coordination and functioning of our political system. The most important function of parties in Texas is to provide a label under which candidates may run and voter may identify. The party label becomes the standard used in casting a ballot for a candidate. Parties recruit candidates, assist in getting out the vote, and helps to organize the government once officials have been elected. The organization of political parties in Texas can be somewhat complex. Texas does not have a system of party registration for voters. Texas parties conduct primaries to select each party’s candidates for office. The precinct chair heads the precinct...
Words: 1112 - Pages: 5
...roots of public participation: Women’s engagement in democratic politics in Pakistan Dissertation – MA Gender and Development Marion R. Mueller, September 2004 Abstract This paper contributes to the discussion about the involvement of women as decision-makers in democratic political processes. It questions the conditions that are necessary to promote such involvement and that open up spaces for the translation of women’s representation into political influence. The context of the devolution of power process in Pakistan shows that it is not enough to only set up democratic institutions to achieve women’s political effectiveness. Instead there is need for significant support through the state, political parties and civil society. To personalise the political is necessary for successfully being able to achieve policy outcomes that reflect women’s interests. Table of contents Abbreviations & Foreign Words 4 List of Figures and Tables 5 Acknowledgements 6 1. Introduction 7 Choice of case study 8/ Methodology 9/ Dissertation structure 10 2. Locating women’s engagement in democratisation 11 3. Imagining the political: women and the nature of the state 16 The framework of the state 16/ Defining access: affirmative action policies in Pakistan 16/ Devolving power to the grassroots 18/ Personalising the political: the presence of women councillors 20 4. Institutionalising the political: political parties...
Words: 13394 - Pages: 54
...Participatory democracy is often promoted as an idea that would allow a more inclusive decision-making process, an impartial society, and more sustainable natural resources management. The government’s conceptions in social policy often view citizens as recipients of the government delivered programmes. Participation is a prominent feature of many decision-making and planning processes. Among its asserted benefits is its potential to strengthen public support and involvement. However, participation is also known for having inadvertent consequences which lead to failures in meeting its objectives. Citizens shall be active participants for shaping and making social provisions. Around the world, a growing crunch of the legitimacy of the relationship...
Words: 1328 - Pages: 6
...WOMEN IN POLITICS AND PUBLIC LIFE IN GHANA By Beatrix Allah Mensah AUTHOR: Beatrix Allah-Mensah Department of Political Science University of Ghana, Legon ISBN: 9988-572-87-5 © Copyright Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, Accra Published in 2005 Printed & designed by O´Mens Graphix, Accra, Tel.:021-238098 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to acknowledge the contribution of all those who made this project a success. First, I give glory to the Almighty God for bringing me this far in my academic and professional pursuit. Secondly, I express my thanks to all my lecturers in the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, who have nurtured me onto this path of professional and academic life. Thirdly, I am grateful to all our key informant interviewees from all the institutions/ministries/political parties who gave us their time and valuable information used for this study. Fourthly, I wish to sincerely acknowledge the contribution of my research assistants, Alfred Appiah and Nimingah Beka, national service personnel of the Department of Political Science for their dedicated service during the data collection. Finally, I would like to express my thanks to the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) for commissioning this study and giving me the opportunity to carry it out with financial and institutional support. I would like to state that, except for quotations or references which have been dully acknowledged, this is the result of a research I conducted personally. God Bless all...
Words: 36172 - Pages: 145
...The process of public policy-making involves interactions between diverse interests and stages in which political pressure groups take different strategies. Australian society has had an increasing number of pressure groups, one of main concerns of which has been public welfare policies. As the history of Australian welfare state has developed with substantial inputs from pressure groups, it is worth questioning whether their influence is still considerable in shaping or changing public policy outcomes. This essay will argue that the history of Australian welfare state development has largely prevented pressure groups from establishing a solid foundation in the welfare policy area, and that their participation in the welfare policymaking process...
Words: 1157 - Pages: 5
...socially aware nation. The communication forms can be radio, television, cinema, magazines, newspapers, and/or Internet-based web sites. These forms often play a varied and vital role in our society. GOVERNANCE Recently the terms "governance" and "good governance" are being increasingly used in development literature. Bad governance is being increasingly regarded as one of the root causes of all evil within our societies. Major donors and international financial institutions are increasingly basing their aid and loans on the condition that reforms that ensure "good governance" are undertaken. GOOD GOVERNANCE Good governance is an indeterminate term used in international development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources. The concept of "good...
Words: 4010 - Pages: 17
...Abstract: Today, we struggle with extremes- that of apathy towards civic participation on one hand and on the other hand, witness campaigns and protests against an existing system. Much of transformation has been brought about in the society recently in various spheres; right of women to enter certain religious places, voices against corruption to name a few where there was large scale public participation. Public engagement and participation is manifestation of civic literacy- a 21st century skill, which is a pre-requisite for transparent, democratic governance. The ubiquitous social networking today, integrated with every sphere of one's daily life including education, holds potential of being used in different ways to make civic education more engaging and meaningful. Most of the youth today, is active on one or more social media with high participation. Large scale participation on social media campaigns for 'causes' like the Ice bucket challenge has shown that social media can have a wider impact...
Words: 1511 - Pages: 7
...1 and 2) leading to strong participation in social movements. Of all perceptions, individual effectiveness is the factor in the decision process that most closely influences the level of participation in both the Bern Declaration and the WWF. Prospective members with a strong feeling that if they engage in protest, their participation will serve at least to a certain extent to bring about social change will actualize their potential for mobilization at the highest level of involvement. Individual effectiveness is also one of the perceptions of the model that is most influenced by social networks, directly but also indirectly via interest in the political issue and the perception of the organization’s effectiveness . This last result highlights the close interweaving between social ties and individual effectiveness. In other words, it stresses the interconnectedness of relational factors and human agency, and demonstrates that both structuralist and rationalist accounts are indispensable to explanation of individual participation. Conclusion Social networks matter, but they do so by performing various functions in the process of individual participation. They intervene at least three different ways. First, they intervene in the socialization and construction of identities. In this function, networks yield structures of meaning that enable individuals to create (or to solidify) identities and to establish cultural proximity with a specific political contention, usually in the...
Words: 4914 - Pages: 20
...How effectively do the UK's main political parties fuffil their key roles and functions? Introduction: In the UK we currently have a two party system the Labour party and the Conservative party, each party has main roles that they need to perform in order to provide an active government system. These key roles come in five different forms known as the following; * participation, this is where the parties allow members within the party as well as citizens to participate in the political process at all levels. * the political recruitment process, parties play a vital role in giving the future leaders their apprenticeship. The candidate selection processes cast aside the unsuitable. e * the policy formulation process,this is where parties hold debates and formulate policy before presenting the policies on a manifesto. * providing a stable government, without parties it is agrued that the House of Commons would simply be a gathering of over 600 individuals. Therefore, this essay will evaluate how effectively the UK's main political parties fulfill their core roles and functions. Participation Parties first role is through participation, encouraging not only citizens but members within their party. The quality of participation afforded to members is shaped largely by the extent to which political parties themselves are internally democratic. The Labour party in paticular has displayed many signs of internal party democracy, this was demonstrated through...
Words: 664 - Pages: 3
...not get us very far. The problem with democracy has been its very popularity, a popularity that has threatened the term's undoing as a meaningful political concept. In being almost universally regarded as a 'good thing', democracy has come to used as little more than a 'hurrah! word', implying approval of a particular set of ideas or system of rule. Perhaps a more helpful starting point from which to consider the nature of democracy is provided by Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered in 1864 at the height of the American Civil War. Lincoln extolled the virtues of what he called 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people'. What this makes clear is that democracy serves to link government to the people, but that this link can be forged in a number of ways - government of, by and for the people. Nevertheless, the precise nature of democratic rule has been the subject of fierce ideological and political debate. The next section will look at alternative models of democracy. For the time being, however, the terms of the democratic debate are explored. This boils down to the attempt to answer two central questions: ▪ Who are the people? ▪ In what sense should the people rule? Who are the people? One of the core features of democracy is the principle of political equality, the notion that political power should be distributed as widely and evenly as possible....
Words: 1978 - Pages: 8
