A Crisis of Participation

Abstract

Concerns over declining levels of political participation in the UK, particularly in traditional activities such as voting and political party membership, have led many to argue that political apathy is increasing and that democracy is at risk (Putnam 2000, Macedo et al. 2005). Reading this literature one could assert that there is a general crisis of political participation. This chapter questions this interpretation and argues that the mainstream participation literature only provides a partial account of trends in political participation because it operates with a narrow understanding of politics. While there has certainly been a decline, both in the UK and other mature, liberal democracies, in traditional forms of participation, which might be characterised as producing a crisis of participation, at the same time there has been a rise of new forms of political participation that operate outside of the established formal arenas. Consequently, this chapter argues that the decline in traditional forms of participation must be located within a broader understanding of the rise of alternative forms. Additionally, it is critical of the mainstream literature’s rather simplistic account of decline and crisis, arguing instead, first, that there is a growing crisis in engagement, resulting from an uncoupling between citizens and the state and, second, that this has important implications for state/citizen relations, which need to be addressed in order to strengthen democracy.