Chapter 7 (Participation and Voting)

Define political participation.

Actions of private citizens by which they seek to influence or support government and politics.

Give an example of how elections do not inherently guarantee a democratic government.

The Soviet Union held elections, but they only had one political party.

Distinguish between the two types of political participation.

• Conventional participation is the relatively routine form that uses institutional channels and is acceptable to the dominant culture.

• Unconventional participation is the relatively uncommon political behavior that challenges or defies established institutions and dominant norms, thus being stressful to participants and their opponents.

Give one example for each of the two types of political participations.

• Voting, writing letters to public officials, and public demonstrations are examples of conventional participation.

• Staging sit-down strikes and chanting slogans are examples of unconventional participation.

Define terrorism and whether it would count as conventional or unconventional behavior.

• It is the premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant groups by subnational groups or clandestine agents.

• It falls under unconventional political behavior, despite not being classified as political participation (as they seek to destroy government rather than influence it).

Explain what differentiates terrorism from unconventional political participation.

• It is not classified as political participation because it seeks to destroy rather than influence government, whereas unconventional political participation are used by disadvantaged groups that resort to them, accepting government while seeking to influence it.

Explain Bloody Sunday and the Boston Tea Party as examples of unconventional participation.

• It was a march led by hundreds to show their support for voting rights for black people; it was then suppressed violently by state troopers after being deemed illegal.

• The Boston Tea Party was the American colonists’ way of protesting British rule, also illegally.

Does unconventional participation work?

Yes.

Define direct action.

• A form of unconventional participation that involves assembling crowds to confront businesses and local governments.

Explain the Montgomery Bus Boycott as an unconventional participatory event that was effective.

• It challenged discrimination and confronted businesses through direct action, proving effective despite being socially unacceptable at the time.

Explain how conventional participation is distinguished.

• If citizens can impact government policies by acting through its institutions and laid-out processes, then it is conventional; otherwise, the institution is lacking in democracy and thus prompts citizens to act unconventionally.

Explain the two types of conventional participation.

• Supportive behavior — expresses allegiance to government and country.

• Influencing behavior — behavior that seeks to modify or reverse government policy to serve political interests, with two main objectives.

List the two objectives of influencing behavior and give one example per (when applicable)

• Particular Benefits — influencing behavior that seeks to influence government to seek certain benefits for themselves.

• Broad Policy Objectives — influencing behavior that influence the selection of government personnel and policies.

Define a class action suit.

A legal action brought by one person or group on behalf of a number of people in similar circumstances.

What is the voter turnout in America like?

It ranks as having the lowest voter turnout across the world.

Define suffrage and franchise.

They both have the same meaning of the right to vote.

Name 2 large groups of people who were franchised to vote long after Constitution adopted

African-Americans and women.

Define progressivism.

• A philosophy of political reform based on the individual citizen’s goodness and wisdom as opposed to special interests and political institutions.

Define a direct primary, a recall, and a referendum & initiative.

• A direct primary is a preliminary election ran by the state government where the voters choose the party’s candidates for the general election.

• A recall is the process of removing an elected official from office.

• A referendum is a direct vote by the people on a proposed law or amendment to a state constitution; an initiative is a procedure by which voters can propose a measure to be decided by the legislature or the people in a referendum.

List the two ways in which voting for candidates serves a democratic government.

• Citizens can choose the candidates they think will best serve them.

• It allows people to re-elect the officials they guessed right about and to kick out those they guessed wrong about; this holds politicians accountable for the decisions they make in office.

Define the standard socioeconomic model, why it relates to voting, and another variable that works alongside it.

• A relationship between socioeconomic status and conventional political involvement.

• Those with higher status are likely to participate more than those with lower status because they tend to be more aware of how politics will affect their lives.

• Age is also another variable that is strongly correlated with conventional political participation and voting activity.

Explain the three factors that explain the low voter turnout in the U.S.

• The differences in voting laws and administrative machinery, such as how most other countries place the burden of registration on the government rather than the individual and make it overall “easier” to vote, as well as making voting compulsory.

• The lack of political parties that more accurately align with certain groups in the U.S also turns people off from voting.

Explain the relationship between participation and freedom, equality, and order.

• To Freedom: Accounting for this in political participation will mean that it favors those with the resources to advance their own political self-interests.

• To Equality: Elections fulfill this the best, as each person’s vote counts equally.

• To Order: Some forms of participation promote order and others promote disorder; order is threatened more by unconventional participation.

What are the three purposes of elections?

• Elections socialize political activity.

• They institutionalize access to political power.

• They bolster the state’s power and authority.

Explain participation and majoritarianism & participation and pluralism.

• Majoritarianism views participation rather narrowly since it relies on the majority, counting votes, and overall favoring collective decisions, thereby having little place for motivated, resourceful individuals to exercise private influence over government actions; it also ends up favoring equality and order over freedom since it defines what is considered an “acceptable” opinion.

• Pluralism views elections as a favorable opportunity since it accommodates multiple viewpoints and influence policymaking in special circumstances.