Chapter 7: Political Participation

alienation

a feeling of personal powerlessness that includes the notion that government does not care about the opinions of people like oneself

apathy

a feeling of personal disinterest in or lack of concern

civic duty

the belief of an individual that civic and political participation is a responsibility of citizenship

political interest

the level of interest that a citizen has in politics; political interest is a prime determinant of whether a citizen will pay attention to politics and participate through voting

political movements

also called social movements, active and sustained efforts to achieve social and political change by groups of people who feel that government has not been properly responsive to their concerns

political participation

involvement in activities intended to influence public policy and leadership, such as voting, joining political groups, contacting elected officials, demonstrating for political causes, and giving money to political candidates

registration

the practice of placing citizens’ names on an official list of voters before they are eligible to exercise their right to vote

social capital

the sum of the face-to-face interactions among citizens in a society

suffrage

the right to vote