ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the macro factors that are linked to political and civic engagement and participation, the social factors linked to engagement and participation, and the psychological factors linked to participation. It describes two interlocking integrative models, one covering macro and social factors and the other covering psychological factors. The chapter outlines an integrative model of these various factors, with a particular focus on collective action, voting and volunteering as three distinct forms of participation. As social factors are concerned, research has revealed that factors associated with the family, education, the peer group, the workplace, the mass media, non-political organisations and political institutions are all related to political and civic participation and engagement. The historical, economic and cultural characteristics of a country provide the context within which formal state institutions are constructed and developed by political elites. A final set of macro factors stems from features of the population, namely, size of the population and population stability.
