Authors: Nohlen
Summary: In about 630 words the entry defines the term, establishes its relevance, distinguishes between a elite-theoretical and a democray-theoretical approach, and states a fundamental finding of empirical research. Participation is understood as the voluntary activity of individuals with the goal of influencing political decision-making processes at all levels. In that sense, the entry argues, participation is a central concept in political science. In historical perspective two central questions are highlighted: Who is allowed to participate equally, and which forms of participation are possible and chosen. The entry summarizes to distinct approaches in the literature: elite theorists stress the danger of encompassing participation and stress the need for stable institutions and responsible elites. In democracy-theoretical perspective it is the limited participation of all people that creates political stability problems. The entry highlights one of the central findings of numerous empirical studies: political participation rates tend to increase with socio-economic status of a person. This cross-national finding leads to questions of political equality in Western democracies if one follows the entries hypothesis that political preferences are different between low and high economic status groups.