Political Participation in a New Democracy

Abstract

Why, in a new African democracy, have citizens passed up opportunities for involvement in national political life? In explaining low levels of political participation in Zambia, this article tests competing arguments against an original set of survey data. It finds that gender is a better demographic predictor of participation than socioeconomic status and that attachments to traditional authority are conducive to political activism. Participation is shaped most powerfully, however, by the availability of political institutions that link citizen to state. Although institutional considerations are more important than cultural values in explaining participation, the former do not entirely displace the latter. Instead, the study finds a synergistic relationship between political party formation and citizen interest in politics in the early stages of building democracy. Theoretically, this finding suggests that the consolidation of political regimes, including democracy, is best conceived as a process of reciprocal codetermination between institution building and cultural change.

The Association between Social Capital and Voting Participation in Three Developing Democracies in Africa

“…This we argue, might be an innate calling emanating from millennia-old cultural, traditional and social psyches, which drives these individuals to want to be in the know. The findings on age wise variation in voting participation between different age groups are in line with other studies, including those from developed democracies (e.g., Norris, 2002) as well as recent studies from developing African democracies such as in the case of Zambia (on this distinction, see Bratton (1999)). …”

Gender Gaps in Political Participation Across Sub-Saharan African Nations

“…As might be expected based on modernization theory, a study of political participation in Zambia finds that gender is one of the most consistent determinants of unequal participation (Bratton 1999). Yet, the results are not unequivocal.…”

“…Despite impressive gains in many nations in access to de jure equality (McEwan 2005) and formal political representation (Geisler 2004; Ballington 1998, 2004), scholars agree that women in sub-Saharan African nations face pervasive oppression in terms of exclusion from leadership roles, resources to mobilize, private patriarchy, and male control over female political spaces (Beck 2003; Bratton 1999; Geisler 1995, 2004; McEwan 2000, 2003). All of these factors are likely to block women’s participation in political life.…”

“…Participation may follow different patterns in fragile, new democracies compared to established democracies (Bratton 1999). Research explaining gender gaps in political participation across African nations is extremely limited, and the Western-based measures of individual socio-economic and attitudinal explanations of the gender gap may have to be reconsidered.…”

“…More generally, Dalton et al (2009:72) conclude that “democratic institutions facilitate the translation of individual resources into political action,” suggesting that socioeconomic characteristics will have a stronger affect on engagement in political activities in rich democratic societies than in poorer, less-democratic societies. Bratton’s (1999) study of Zambia shows that the standard socioeconomic status and political attitude variables have little explanatory power in explaining political participation.…”