ABSTRACT
Democratic citizenship ideally provides those who are affected by collective decisions
with the standing to have a voice in making those decisions. Yet, by a host of relevant
empirical measures, the average democratic citizen is steadily losing their voice at the
decision-making table. Across the developed democracies, citizens today are less likely
to vote, to volunteer in political campaigns, or to have contact with their political
representatives (Franklin 2004; Norris 2011; Leighley and Nagler 2014). They are less
capable of shaping the agenda of politicians and policymakers (Bartels 2008; Schlozman,
Verba, and Brady 2012). And, on those rare occasions when citizens do manage to be
heard by government, it is only when their voices are echoed by those of wealthy elites and
organized interest groups (Gilens and Page 2014). In short, contemporary democratic
citizenship is increasingly becoming silent citizenship.
