Participation in Politics

For many years the study of political participation concentrated on electoral activity and political parties. The decline in popular identification with established parties in several countries, together with the rise of political action outside the formal system, have been forces in the everyday world reinforcing theoretical reservations about the traditional focus of study. The essays in this book, originally published in 1977, capture the range of concerns for political participation studies and include subjects such as: an extended analysis of non-voting Britain; the result of survey research in rent strikes in London; a study of the relationship between socialization and political participation and possible political applications of existing experience of participation in industry; a critique of ‘pluralist’ theories of mass movements and a study of participation in community action.

The volume serves as a critical historical marker in British political sociology. It captured a transitional period in the 1970s when traditional forms of democratic engagement (like voting and party membership) were first showing signs of strain, and alternative, direct-action movements were beginning to surge.