ABSTRACT
A central goal of this book is to show that several different concepts of political participation exist. This variety is analogous to the variety of concepts of representation demonstrated by political philosopher Hanna Fenichel Pitkin and now accepted by the various branches of political science. As with political representation, so it is with political participation. Indeed, political scientists normally recognize that there are different concepts of participation, but such recognition is stated unclearly and in the form of partial statements. For instance, it is conventional to contrast the idea of participation as being part of a debate about community issues with one expressing one's interests within a system of political institutions. And it is also the conventional understanding that discussions of participation as civic engagement differ from discussions of participation as voting and contributing to an interest group. However, others have not identified the five forms of participation as I have in this book.
