Abstract
This chapter addresses some of the problems faced by participatory democracy by examining the relationship between participation and poverty in some detail. It introduces some of the methodological and analytical problems that need to be addressed if the relationship between poverty and democracy is to be analysed successfully. The chapter begins with an account of the prominent theoretical explanations for inequalities in democratic participation within the political science literature, suggesting that these can struggle to present nuanced accounts of poverty and its relationship to democratic life. It then corrects this by introducing the literature on neighbourhood effects, highlighting two prominent factors affecting the levels of participation in poor areas; social isolation, and social disorganisation.
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Notes
- 1.
Unsurprisingly, the residents of the estate have a long history of resistance against such labels. On 18 October 1972, a public meeting was held to protest the description of Blackbird Leys as a ‘slum’ by a local government officer. This is one of the few instances of the population of the estate attending such a meeting in large numbers.
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Dacombe, R. (2018). Participation, Democracy and Neighbourhood Poverty. In: Rethinking Civic Participation in Democratic Theory and Practice. The Theories, Concepts and Practices of Democracy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58825-8_3
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