Unequal Political Engagement and the Possible Risks to Democracy

Theoria ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (156) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Christine Hobden
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Accountability ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Political Decision Making

Citizens increasingly engage with political issues in new ways by addressing politicians via social media, campaigning at international forums, or boycotting corporate entities. These forms of engagement move beyond more regulated electoral politics and are rightly celebrated for the ways they increase representation and provide new channels of accountability. Yet, despite these virtues, political engagement beyond voting inevitably tends to entrench and amplify inequality in citizen influence on political decision-making. The tendency toward inequality undermines relational equality between citizens and muddies the channels of political accountability and responsibility. This article unpacks the ostensible tension and argues that it reveals to us another strength in views which hold the state to be citizens’ collective project and provides argumentative resources to motivate democracies to give due attention to ensuring that democratic participatory channels remain fit for purpose in an ever-changing society.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND POLITICAL DECISION MAKING

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Bryan Mariano ◽  
Marife De Torres ◽  
Danilo Vargas
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Political Decision Making

The Influence of Psychological Security Maintenance on Political Decision Making

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Hart
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Psychological Defense ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Political Beliefs ◽  
Security Research ◽  
Political Decision Making

People are strongly motivated to maintain psychological security, or equanimity, which causes them to process and act on information in ways that are favorable to protecting against anxiety (i.e., psychological “defense”). People rely on at least three interlocking mechanisms to maintain security—investment in social relationships, self-esteem, and meaningful worldviews—and these mechanisms perfuse nearly every aspect of life. By consequence, people’s political beliefs, attitudes, and leadership preferences reflect motivated efforts to maintain security. Research derived from terror management theory and related theories of security maintenance shows that security needs influence political decision making in three major ways. First, they amplify people’s affinity for political stances that affirm their preexisting worldviews and bolster their sense of belongingness, affiliation, and esteem. Second, security needs tend to draw people toward conservative viewpoints; however, a more potent consequence might be to harden or polarize existing political stances. Finally, security needs cause attraction to charismatic and powerful political personalities (i.e., politicians). Although the theoretical basis for these conclusions is strong, and there is research to support them, it remains challenging to apply this analysis to specific persons, situations, and political issues because it is not always clear which security-relevant facets within complex circumstances will be most salient or influential. Nevertheless, a security-based analysis of political decision making has impressive explanatory potential and helps observers to understand polarization and “tribal” tendencies in politics, among other things.

Het strijdpunt als besluitvormingstype in de Belgische politiek

Res Publica ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-550
Author(s):  
Wilfried Dewachter
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Single Issue ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Direct Election ◽  
Political Decision Making

Within the Belgian political system political issues are hard to deal with. The institutions do not provide a problem-solving mechanism : no ref erendum, no direct election of a one-party cabinet. Moreover, electoral campaigns usually involve a lot of heterogeneous issues and almost never focus upon a single one. Active political participation of citizens is, by definition, selective and, compared with electoral participation, limited, although, the number of people taking part in a political demonstration is sometimes considerable. An investigation of the Belgian political elite shows that active political participation, sparked off by a single issue, can be considered as one of the most polyarchie types of political decision-making in Belgium. This involves an increase of tension and conflict, a slowing down of the process of decision-making and a selective accessibility to this type of participation. Belgian politicians try to avoid these difficulties by either opting for non-decision or consociational politics.

scholarly journals General theoretical bases of the political decision-making process

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-19
Author(s):  
Andrii Lysyi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
International System ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
State Level ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
International Environment ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Political Decision Making

In the framework of reformation changes in the state and society, the issues of the political decision-making theory developing on the basis of neoclassical realism are of particular relevance and determine the directions for research of specialists of different industries. Domestic and foreign researchers in the field of political science, who study the process of political decision-making, analyze it at three principal levels: global, state and sub-state. The global level reflects the international character of states’ activities; includes the global dependence of political decision-making, in which international organizations, institutions and norms reduce the anarchy of political decision-making in the country; is formed under the influence of the building and distribution of states and international system images. The state-level reflects the degree of unity that is achieved with the joint participation of both the state and the entire national community of people in political decision-making and in responding to the challenge posed by the international environment. Not only the state level, which considers the attributes of the state as a system of different institutions with their peculiarities of political decision-making, should be distinguished, but also the sub-state level, in which the interaction of social, including individual, and state actors in the process of political decision-making takes place. The issues of population mobilization in the course of implementing a political decision in the Ukrainian context are determined as the presence of various domestic «obstacles» to the implementation of those initiatives that come from the state or public structures. The authors distinguish the most important of them: the bureaucratic nature and corruption of the implementation process of public initiatives in political, social or economic spheres; low political diversity, lack of political party representation in parliament and low functional «maturity» of the legislative branch; an underdeveloped political culture of participation creates burdens when making a political decision since the political system lacks information at its «entrance»; socio-economic problems of the majority of the population that prevent it from responding to political initiatives

(Ent-)Politisierung?

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Special Volume ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Scientific Expertise ◽  
Political Decision Making

Contradictory trends of depoliticisation and (re-)politicisation seem to characterise current democratic society. Protest movements and populism polarise opinions on both the streets and social media, while anonymous algorithms or scientific expertise threaten to technocratise political decision-making. At the same time, these phenomena raise the question of democratic theoretical standards of evaluation. This special volume provides a conceptual framework for the analysis and interpretation of these processes and relates previously unconnected fields of research. Theoretical perspectives and empirical findings thus form a debate on the understanding as well as the manifestations and dynamics of politics in the 21st century. With contributions by Priska Daphi, Beth Gharrity Gardner, Anna Geis, Samuel Greef, Simon Hegelich, Eva Her-schinger, Fabienne Marco, David Meiering,Michael Neuber, Orestis Papakyriakopoulos, Friedbert W. Rüb, Linda Sauer, Andreas Schäfer, Wolfgang Schroeder, Hanna Schwander, Grit Straßenberger, Jennifer Ten Elsen, Lena Ulbricht and Claudia Wiesner.

Ambivalence in Political Decision Making

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dane Warner ◽  
Jason Gainous
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Attitude Strength ◽  
Value Conflict ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Attitudinal Ambivalence ◽  
Operative Measures ◽  
Political Decision Making ◽  
Decision Research

Behavioral research largely treats attitudinal ambivalence as a component of attitude strength. Specifically, attitudinal ambivalence exists when someone simultaneously possesses positive and negative evaluations of a single attitude object. Ambivalent individuals do not have a single “true” attitude about political issues but rather a store of multiple and sometimes conflicting attitudes that they might draw upon at any given time when making a decision. Research has suggested that such ambivalence is quite common when it comes to political attitudes. Thus, understanding the measurement of ambivalence, the sources of ambivalence, and the consequences of ambivalence is critical to understanding political decision making. Ambivalence measures largely fall within one of two types: Meta-attitudinal measures where individuals assess their own ambivalence and operative measures where researchers construct indicators that assess ambivalence without individuals’ cognizance that it is being measured. Most research suggests that operative measures perform better. Research generally assumes that the causes of ambivalence are rooted in individual differences in attitude strength that may result from a host of individual or combined sources. The most common sources of ambivalence researchers focus on are value conflict, differences in political knowledge, Context/Political Environment, and Cross-Cutting Information/Conflicting Networks/Groups. Finally, some of the most prevalent consequences of ambivalence are an increase in susceptibility to influence, an effect on the rate of political participation, and increased variance in vote choice. It is here, in the consequences of ambivalence, where the most direct connection to political decision making is evident. In a democratic society, the decision centered on for whom one votes, is perhaps, the quintessential political decision.

Slovakia’s perspective on NATO

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Ušiak
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
The State ◽  
Strategic Orientation ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
Time Space ◽  
Small Countries ◽  
Political Decision Making

Security, as expressed by the security policy of a state, is one of the most fundamental aspects of a foreign and defense policies of a state. Together, they create a foreign orientation of the state which may alter with time, space and under the influence of political decision-making. This paper presents the sources of the strategic orientation of Slovakia that emerged in reaction to historical events that the faced country Slovakia gradually integrated into the European and Euro—Atlantic structures with the emphasis on coalition changes in the governance of the state. This paper, through analysis and comparison, shows the dominant changes in the Slovakian security environment. In any case, it has been the destiny of small countries to maintain their security through cooperation and integration.

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