civic participation
Public life activity
Civic participation is involvement in the public life of a community or nation.
It includes voting, attending town meetings, serving on juries, contacting elected officials, and volunteering for local causes.
The term emphasizes active engagement rather than passive citizenship: Civic participation has declined among young voters.
Also called civic engagement.
- volunteeringGiving service without pay
- votingFormally registering a choice
- ballot boxContainer for cast votes
- petitioningFormally requesting action
- suffrageRight to cast ballots
campaigning · democracy · activism · popular sovereignty · town hall · public forum · participatory democracy · jury duty · protesting · public comment · school board · city council · representation · turnout · get out the vote · community engagement · neighborhood watch · lobbying
- civicsballot, election, ballots, Bill of Rights, branches of government
- democracyvote, voting, election, elections, ballot
- civic dutiestaxes, jury duty, paying taxes, voting, tax payment
- communityneighbors, neighborliness, neighborhoods, kinship, community centers
- social obligationscourtesy, politeness, greeting, obligation, thank you
- ancient politicsAthenian democracy, polis, senate, archon, direct democracy
civic participationpolitical apathy
Indifference to governance
disengagement · voter apathy · nonparticipation · abstention · non-voting
civic participationsocial isolation
Lack of human contact
individualism · anomie · atomization · alienation · disconnection
civic participationdisenfranchisement
Removal of voting rights
voter suppression · political repression · silencing · marginalization · authoritarianism