ABSTRACT

Republican and democratic theorists from Rousseau onwards have either urged or assumed that a proper system of government must provide opportunities for political participation by the ordinary citizen. The opportunity to vote in periodic competitive elections is the minimum condition that a governmental system must satisfy to qualify as democratic, and most liberal theorists, indeed most political scientists, have believed that further opportunities and forms of political participation are highly desirable. The concept of political participation is not nearly as complex as the concept of representation, is not currently contestable, and can be easily illustrated by example, in the form of a list of the main forms of participation open to citizens in the modern democratic state. Before giving this list, however, a word about definition will be helpful.