Fear, Apathy, and Discrimination: A Test of Three Explanations of Political Participation

1973 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 1288-1306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lester M. Salamon ◽  
Stephen Van Evera
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Relative Deprivation ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Voting Rights Act ◽  
Participation Rates ◽  
Low Education ◽  
Half Decade

Students of political participation have generally taken as given that nonparticipation in politics is a result of apathy, and that apathy is a function of low income, low education, and low status. This article suggests that there are two additional potential explanations of political participation rates besides that offered by the conventional wisdom. One of these acknowledges that political participation for some people in some circumstances involves considerable risk, so that nonparticipation can be explained more accurately in terms of fear than in terms of apathy. The other views political participation as a response to a sense of “relative deprivation” or discrimination. After each of these three “models” of political participation is translated into operational terms, it is tested by determining how well it accounts for the variations in black political participation rates in Mississippi during the first half-decade following the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The conclusion that emerges from these tests is that political scientists have erred seriously by overlooking the role of fear in political life. In situations like those faced by blacks in Mississippi, situations that are probably similar to those in parts of the “developing world,” apathy compares poorly with fear as an explanation of political participation.

scholarly journals Cross-Nativity Partnering and Political Participation: The Effect of Partner's Immigration Background on Voting Across Immigrant Generations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hansini Munasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Immigrant Integration ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Third Generation ◽  
Immigrant Generation ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
The Third ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Individual

Research on cross-nativity partnering – relationships between immigrants and non-immigrants – has mainly focused on socioeconomic determinants and outcomes of these unions, and their sociopolitical consequences remain underexplored. Extrapolating existing research reveals how cross-nativity relationships may serve as conduits of resources, knowledge, and connections that facilitate political participation; as spaces of political resocialization, bringing together partners with different experiences and understandings of citizenship; and, alternatively, as a selection mechanism whereby immigrant integration results in cross-nativity relationships among those more likely to participate in politics. Using data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and linking information about married and cohabiting couples, this study assesses whether cross-nativity partnering is associated with voting. Logistic regression models predicting voting using respondents’ and their partners’ immigrant generation indicate two broad findings. First, having a second or third+ generation partner is positively associated with voting, consistent with theoretical expectations that US-born partners provide resources or signal selection. Second, and more surprisingly, there is small but significant variation in voting among the third+ generation based on their partner’s immigrant generation. This indicates inadequacies in theorizing US-born partners solely as providers, and is more consistent with political resocialization. Importantly, this finding challenges theoretical and empirical assumptions in immigration research about the third+ generation as a static baseline. Overall, this study contributes to expanding scholarly focus beyond the individual to the role of relationships, in particular of spouses and cohabiting partners, in integrating immigrants into political life, and, more broadly, in shaping and contextualizing interactions between the state and its citizens and subjects.

scholarly journals Trusting an Abusive System: Systemic Racism and Black Political Engagement

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-147
Author(s):  
Matthew Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political System ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
African Descent ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Voting Rights Act ◽  
American Government ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
American President

Africana people in America have relied upon the utilization of political participation in order to address the economic and societal ills that plague its community. Africana people have made strides at all levels of the American government. Africana people were a vital voting block that helped to elect the first American President of African descent. However, studies have shown that the conditions of Africana people in America have not substantially changed since the Voting Rights Act of 1 965 was enacted. Africana political participation has not equated to socioeconomic equality on a large scale for the Africana community. Utilizing Feagin's Systemic Racism Theory, this project looks to examine why solely relying upon the American political system is symptomatic of disagency for Africana people and argues that this dis-agency does not empower our people to seek solutions. It places the power to liberate in the oppressor's hands, thus maintaining the inequality that continues to exist in America. This article also argues for Africana people to look to themselves as the avenue for addressing the societal ills that it faces. It also argues that Africana people must be their own mechanism for liberation. In addition, the terms Africana and Black will be used interchangeably in the project because those terms are most readily identifiable to people of African descent living in America.

Political Participation: An Ultimate Priority

2021 ◽  
pp. 143-156
Author(s):  
Gauthier de Beco
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Cognitive Impairments ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

This chapter examines the right to political participation. It exposes the persistent lack of protection of disabled people’s political rights, including denial of the right to vote for those with cognitive impairments. It analyses what the CRPD requires in order for all disabled people to be able to exercise their voting rights and what it provides beyond the mere act of voting so as to encourage participation in ‘the conduct of public affairs’. It goes on to explain why the inclusion of disabled people in political life is a matter for the whole population and why there is no reason for denying the right to vote to any particular group. It also explores how to achieve political participation more broadly through real engagement in political activities.

scholarly journals SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC DISADVANTAGE, LIVING WITH A SMOKER, AND OBESITY IN MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER WOMEN

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S693-S693
Author(s):  
Carole K Holahan ◽  
Charles J Holahan ◽  
Sangdon Lim ◽  
Yen T Chen ◽  
Daniel A Powers
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Current Smoking Status ◽  
Current Smoking ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Low Education

Abstract Although sociodemographic disadvantage is a recognized risk factor for obesity, the potential role of living with a smoker in this relationship has been unexamined. This study investigated: (a) the association between sociodemographic disadvantage and living with a smoker, and (b) the role of living with a smoker in partially explaining the link between sociodemographic disadvantage and obesity. The study used limited access data from the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study obtained from NHLBI. Participants were 91,888 women ranging in age from 50 to 79; 6,527 participants reported living with a smoker. Analyses were cross-sectional. Logistic regression analyses examined paths in the proposed model; bias-corrected bootstrapped confidence intervals tested indirect effects. All analyses controlled for age, marital status, and participants’ current smoking status. Results demonstrated a significant association (p < .001) between sociodemographic disadvantage and living with a smoker across three measures of disadvantage (for low education, low income, and Black ethnicity, ORs were 1.95, 2.10, and 2.63, respectively), as well as between living with and smoker and obesity (OR = 1.71). Moreover, the unstandardized indirect effect (CIs are in brackets) from sociodemographic disadvantage to obesity through living with a smoker was statistically significant for all three measures of disadvantage (for low education, low income, and Black ethnicity, indirect effects = .05 [.04, .06], .06 [.05, .06], and .07 [.06, .08], respectively). These findings underscore the need for innovative household-level interventions for disadvantaged families living with a smoker integrating smoking- and obesity-prevention efforts. This project was supported by the NIH/NCI (R03CA215947).

From Suffragists to Pink Pussyhats: In Search of Intersectional Solidarity

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 490-493
Author(s):  
Chaya Crowder ◽  
Candis Watts Smith
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
100Th Anniversary ◽  
Voting Rights Act ◽  
Sojourner Truth ◽  
Nineteenth Amendment ◽  
Combahee River Collective ◽  
Feminist Movements

The 100th anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment is an opportunity to reflect on the role of women in American politics. The tools of intersectionality allow scholars to pinpoint the progress and pitfalls produced by ongoing modes of sexism and patriarchy as well as racism and classism. It is now well known that major movements for the rights of American women have not always addressed the issues specific to black women (Simien 2006). Indeed, in 1851, Sojourner Truth discussed this issue of not being included in conversations about women’s rights (or civil rights for blacks) in her alleged “Ain’t I a Woman” speech. Similarly, the fact that Ida B. Wells and other black women were told to process at the back of the 1913 Women’s March on Washington is another illustration of the historical exclusion of black women by their white counterparts (Boissoneault 2017). Decades later and even after the 1965 Voting Rights Act enforced black women’s enfranchisement, the Combahee River Collective (1977) noted the exclusion of issues that affect black women by both 1970s white feminist movements and male-dominated anti-racist movements.

scholarly journals YOUTH IN SPORTS CLUBS: ON THE ROLE OF SPORTS CLUBS IN THE SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN HUNGARY

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-153
Author(s):  
Emőke Török
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Young Athletes ◽  
Sports Clubs ◽  
Organized Sports ◽  
The Social ◽  
Low Education ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Sports Activities ◽  
Positive Impacts

It is a widely accepted view that the participation of young generations in organized sports activities has positive impacts both for the individual and the society. However, these positive impacts often does not reach those groups of the society, which would need the most these impacts for improving their chances regarding social participation and thus promoting integration of the society. The paper presents the results of a survey among young athletes inHungary, showing that the perception of the athletes in the sports clubs is very positive regarding the impacts of sports on their lives, but that young people from low-income and low-education families have very limited access to the sports clubs and so to the positive impacts of sports.

scholarly journals Status Sosial Ekonomi dan Kualitas Partai Politik dalam Meningkatkan Partisipasi Politik

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Muhammad Yahya Arwiyah
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Political Education ◽  
The Political ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Trust Level ◽  
Democratic Nation

Voters in Bandung  Regency is part of Indonesian people playing an important role in determining policy and organizing lawful lives considering Indonesia is a democratic nation based on constitutions. On other hand, the involvement of citizens in a political life general or regional election was not free from socio-economic status or background of in fact, political participation of citizens was not yet optimum because of the diversity of socio-economic status, the decrease in trust level of citizens forwards ideological line of tehe political parties, and role of paternalistic culture as well as the lack of political education carried on by the political parties.

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