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C A N A D A I N C O M P A R A T I V E P E R S P E C T I V E
Interest Articulation and Aggregation
Interest Articulation
The term interest articulation refers to the ways that citizens express their needs, views and demands to government
Interests can be articulated by individual citizens or by groups citizens who organize to represent their collective interests
Social Capital
A term made popular by
American political scientist
Robert Putnam
Social capital refers to
connections among individuals
– social networks and the norms
of reciprocity and trustworthiness
that arise from them
Social Capital and Democracy
Putnam argued that there is a strong positive connection between social capital and democracy
Social engagement political engagement successful democracy
Bridging and bonding
social capital
Class and Participation
Better educated and higher social status individuals are more likely to engage in political participation
These individuals tend to have a stronger sense of political efficacy and civic duty
They also possess the personal resources and skills needed to be politically active
Types of Citizen Participation
Voting (in elections and referenda)
Joining interest groups or political parties
Signing a petition
Participating in a
demonstration
Political consumerism
Interest Articulation
If the university doubled tuition rates in response to provincial cutbacks to post-
secondary education funding, how would you respond?
Interest Groups
A collection of individuals who have decided to pursue common political goals
Do not seek to control
the entire machinery of
government, but do seek
to influence the political
process
Types of Interest Groups
Anomic
Non-associational
Institutional
Associational
Interest Group Systems
Pluralist interest group systems
Neo-Corporatist interest group
systems
Controlled interest group systems
Determinants of Interest Group Influence
Numbers
Cohesion
Organizational skills
Leadership
Nature of the Issue
Strategies and Access
Lobbying
Mass-oriented activities
Access points to
government
Violence and Protest
Is violence a legitimate form of protest and interest articulation?
Interest Aggregation
The activity in which the political demands of individuals and groups are combined in policy programs
The means through which
articulated interests are
channeled into the political
process
Types of Interest Aggregation
Personal interest aggregation Patron-client networks
Institutional interest aggregation Connections between collective interests
such as interest groups and political
vehicles such as political parties
Competition between institutional groups
Party Systems
Competitive Party Systems
Consensual Party System
Conflictual Party System
Consociational Party System
One Party Competitive Systems
Authoritarian Party Systems
Types of Political Parties
Internally created: their founders were politicians who already held seats in the national assembly or other political offices
Externally created: parties that
organized outside parliament
before they became a force inside
that institution
Election Systems
Single Member Plurality or
“First Past the Post”
Majority Run-off
Proportional Representation
Discussion Question
Should voting in elections and referenda be mandatory in Canada?
Authoritarian Party Systems
Exclusive Governing Party System
Inclusive Governing Party
System
Military Regimes