Concerns about a crisis in politics stem largely from evidence of growing civic disengagement, reflected, in particular, in declining rates of voter turnout and falling levels of party membership and campaigning. However, such trends may not so much betoken a crisis in political participation, as indicate a shift from one kind of participation to another – as, for instance, protest movements rise in importance and 'new media' are more widely used to facilitate political debate and activism. Growing cynicism about, and even anger towards, mainstream political parties and politicians has been expressed in the phenomenon of 'anti-politics'. 'Anti-politics', nevertheless, does not encourage citizens to turn away from politics and retreat into private existence. Instead, it tends to spawn new groups and movements that express resentment or hostility towards established political structures, although these may range from anti-capitalist protests to far-right anti-immigration campaigns. Evidence of growing voter apathy cannot easily be disregarded, as modern democracies are all representative democracies, in which elections play a vital role. However, the task of explaining declining levels of formal political participation is fraught with difficulties, not least because of the number of possible culprits. The most significant of these are politics, politicians and parties, the public, the media and modern society

1. A CRISIS IN
POLITICS?

2. • Decline in voter turnout (estimate of a 5% global
decrease in turnout – Lijphart, 1996)
• Partisan dealignment and drop in party membership
• Upsurge in interest in pressure group politics
• More fluid, non-hierarchical and spontaneous styles of
participation, reflecting new ideas about citizenship
Declining civic engagement?

3. • Voter turnout is an important indication of the health of
the larger democratic system.
• But who, or what, is to blame for declining participation
rates and, in particular, for falling voter turnout?
1) Politics?
2) Politicians and parties?
3) The media?
4) The public?
5) Modern society?
Explaining civic disengagement

4. • Disillusionment with politicians and mainstream parties
has spawned new forms of politics which articulate
hostility towards conventional political structures
• While hostility is based on the idea that political elites
are ‘corrupt’, ‘self-serving’, ‘out-of-touch’, anti-politics
groups and movements have taken a number of
different forms
• Evident in both left-wing and right-wing movements
The rise of ‘anti-politics’

5. • Political systems can be judged only in terms of their
impact on the larger society, for good or ill.
• The most commonly used indexes of a government’s
or system’s performance include:
1) its ability to maintain stability and order
2) deliver material prosperity
3) promote citizenship
4) foster democratic rule.
Assessing political performance

6. • Political systems can be judged only in terms of their
impact on the larger society, for good or ill.
• The most commonly used indexes of a government’s
or system’s performance include:
1) its ability to maintain stability and order
2) deliver material prosperity
3) promote citizenship
4) foster democratic rule.
Assessing political performance