Abstract
This chapter argues that the ways in which individual citizens engage with politics are changing. It is different to the three previous chapters in this section, as it focuses on individual and thus behavioural change (see Chapter 3), not on how institutions mediate the relationship between the state and society. The chapter argues that broadening our understanding of democracy (see Chapter 1) to focus on both individuals and social movements helps us to engage critically with how politics can be more responsive to the political views and experiences of citizens. As in the last chapter, critical theorists might ask whether this shift results in fundamental socio-economic changes (Chapter 4). To the extent that this broadening of participation might also be the result of, or produce, new discourses of politics, it will be of interest to discourse theorists and post-structuralists (Chapter 5).
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Contemporary Politics in Australia: Theories, Practices and Issues |
Editors | Rodney Smith, Ariadne Vromen, Ian Cook |
Place of Publication | Melbourne |
Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
Pages | 199-210 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780521137539 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |