Political Participation in Democracies

Paper Summary:

The paper reviews scholarly materials pertaining to the decline of political participation of individuals in Western Democracies and reveals that it appears that there is less interest in political aspects of society by those born after the year 1970. The paper reveals various causes for this apathy. The paper concludes that while it is certain that no individual can or should be forced to participate in political and civic events in their community, it is certain that schools and communities have a very important responsibility in educating its citizens as to the critical importance of political and civic participation in a democracy.

From the Paper:

"Habermas goes on to state that this institutional design is one that "embodies ideas from different political philosophies." Habermas explains that each of the traditions of democracy "gives a different weighting to equal liberties for everybody, democratic participation and government by public opinion." The point made by Habermas is that "government by public opinion" is a necessary ingredient for a working democracy whether it be governed by the Democratic democracy or the Republican democracy."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Catt, Dr. Helena (2005) Now or Never -Children as Young People as Citizens; Participation, Provision and Protection. 6th Child and Family Policy Conference. Paper presented at the symposium 'Citizenship: Learning by Doing". Online available at: http://www.elections.org.nz/now-or-never-lit-review.html
• Stolle, D. and Hooghe, M. (nd) Inaccurate, Exceptional, One-Sided or Irrelevant? The Debate about the Alleged Decline of Social Capital and Civic Engagement in Western Societies. Online available at: Cambridge Journals Online.
• Keller, Douglas (nd ) Habermas, the Public Sphere, and Democracy: A Critical Intervention Douglas Kellner http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/kellner.html
• Blais, A., Gidengil, E.; Nadeau, R.; and Nevitte, N. (nd) Generational Change and the Decline of Political Participation: The Case of Voter Turnout in Canada. Online available at: http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:47SWoKPmqOQJ:www.youthconference.mcgil l.ca/GidengilPaper.pdf+decline+of+political+participation+in+Western+Democ racies&hl=en&gl=us&ct=c lnk&cd=2&client=firefox-a

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