ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the empirical evidence for the claim that Americans are increasingly displaying civic indifference. It evaluates both individual and structural explanations for that civic indifference, largely measured by voter-turnout figures in presidential and off-year elections. The chapter provides alternative explanations for civic indifference by considering the explosion of citizen activism that has occurred in the United States in recent years. After exploring how civic indifference is manifested, it examines both college students' attitudes toward politics and their political behavior as measured by various studies. Political participation in America cannot be adequately explained by merely focusing on the individual characteristics of the participants and nonparticipants. The analysis must be broad enough to encompass many structural and individual explanations, as the chapter attempts to explain the decline in voting at the same time that there is an increase in citizen activism. It emphasizes the importance of conceptualizing political participation far more broadly than mere participation in periodic elections.
