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Social Structure and Political Participation: Developmental Relationships, Part I

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  • Nie, Norman H.
  • Powell, G. Bingham
  • Prewitt, Kenneth

Abstract

Economic development has consequences for many aspects of social life. Some of these social consequences, in turn, have an impact on a nation's political life. Studies of social mobilization, for example, have demonstrated that economic development is associated with sharp increases in the general level of political participation. These studies report strong relationships between aggregate socio-economic measures such as per capita income, median level of education, and percentage of the population in urban areas, on one hand, and aggregate measures of political participation, such as voting turnout, on the other. Simultaneously, scholars conducting surveys of individual political participation consistently have reported that an individual's social status, education, and organizational memberships strongly affect the likelihood of his engaging in various types of political activities. In spite of the consistency of both sets of findings across many studies and although the findings appear frequently in analysis of political stability, democracy, and even strategies of political growth, we know little about the connections between social structure and political participation. With few exceptions the literature on individual participation is notable for low level generalizations (the better educated citizen talks about politics more regularly), and the absence of systematic and comprehensive theory. While the literature on the growth of national political participation has been more elaborate theoretically, the dependence on aggregate measures has made it difficult to determine empirically how these macro social changes structure individuals' life experiences in ways which alter their political behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Nie, Norman H. & Powell, G. Bingham & Prewitt, Kenneth, 1969. "Social Structure and Political Participation: Developmental Relationships, Part I," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 63(2), pages 361-378, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:63:y:1969:i:02:p:361-378_26
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    Cited by:

    1. Shouzhi Xia, 2017. "E-Governance and Political Modernization: An Empirical Study Based on Asia from 2003 to 2014," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-14, July.
    2. Gerken, Egbert & Gross, Martin & Lächler, Ulrich, 1984. "The causes and consequences of steel subsidization in Germany," Kiel Working Papers 214, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    3. Claude S. Fischer, 1972. "Urbanism as a Way of Life," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 1(2), pages 187-242, November.
    4. Walid Merouani & Rana Jawad, 2022. "Political Attitudes and Participation among Young Arab Workers: A Comparison of Formal and Informal Workers in Five Arab Countries," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-24, October.
    5. Kritiya Rujichok, 2017. "Political Communication Factors Affecting University Students� Political Participation," GATR Journals jber128, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    6. Alexander Cotte Poveda & Jorge Martinez Carvajal, 2019. "Economic Development, Political Violence and Socio-Political Instability in Colombia: An Econometric Analysis Using Panel Data," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 237-253.

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