Political apathy
In political science, political apathy is a lack of interest or apathy towards politics.[1] It can consist of interest apathy, voter apathy, and information apathy. It can be categorized as the indifference of an individual and a lack of interest in participating in political activities.[2] This includes lack of interest in elections, political events, public meetings, and voting.[3] Collective political apathy can lower voter turnout.
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Political apathy is often found among younger voters, the poor, and minority groups.[4] The Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy (CIRCLE) breaks down youths into different groups, Broadly Engaged (19%), Political Specialists (19%) and Only Voted (18%), with the rest clustered into Civically Alienated (16%), Politically Marginalized (14%) and Engaged Non-Voters (14%).[5] In 2010, only 21% of youths eligible to vote in the United States between ages 18–21 voted or were politically active.[6]
United States
In the 2016 presidential election in the U.S., turnout was 54.8%[7] while in the midterm elections of 2018 the turnout rate of 50.0% and in the midterm elections of 2014 there was a historic low of 36.7% turnout to the elections.[8] Based on government data, in the last 60 years eligible voters that have cast a ballot has ranged from 49 to 63%.[9] The highest turnout occurred in the 1960 election in which President John F. Kennedy was elected, while the lowest turnout occurred in 1996 with the election for President Bill Clinton.[9]
In a Google study on "Interested Bystanders," experts discovered that 48.9% of people in America are paying attention to the political world but not voicing any opinion on the matter (non-voting, non-volunteering for campaigns etc.),[10] thus increasing political, and voter apathy in America.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, like many other western liberal democracies, there has been a steady decline in turnout in general elections over recent decades. After a peak in the 1950 General election with 83.9% turnout in the UK steadily declining to ultimately an all time low turnout of 59.4% in the 2001 General election.[11] Low turnout and disengagement in elections and the political process is more prevalent in younger voters.[12] In addition to declining turnout over recent decades trust in the government has fallen also leading to disengagement.[11]
References
- Dean, Dwight G. (1965-01-01). "Powerlessness and Political Apathy". Social Science. 40 (4): 208–213. JSTOR 41885108.
- Harder, Joshua (2008). "Why Do People Vote? A Psychological Analysis of the Causes of Voter Turnout" (PDF). Stanford Journal of Social Issues. 64.
- Pasek, Josh. "America's Youth and Community Engagement: How Use of Mass Media is Related to Civic Activity and Political awareness" (PDF).
- "Why the Voting Gap Matters | Demos". www.demos.org. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- "Understanding a Diverse Generation :Youth Civic Engagement in the United States". Tufts University College of Citizenship and Public Service.
- "Why young people don't vote". The Economist. 2014-10-29. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
- "Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "2014G - United States Elections Project". www.electproject.org. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Why is There so Much Voter Apathy in U.S. Elections?". International Business Times. 2011-09-19. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- Krontiris, Kate; Webb, John; Chapman, Chris (2015-01-01). "Understanding America's Interested Bystander: A Complicated Relationship with Civic Duty".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Uberoi, Elise (16 October 2019). "Political disengagement in the UK: who is disengaged?". House of Commons Briefing Paper: 6.
- Birch, Sarah (November 2013). "DIVIDED DEMOCRACY POLITICAL INEQUALITY IN THE UK AND WHY IT MATTERS" (PDF). Institute for Public Policy Research Report: 7.