Articles

Politieke participatie : Wat doet dat met een mens ? : Een panelstudie van Belgische lokale data

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Abstract

In this paper we study both long term and short term individual effects of political participation at the local level. Participatory theorists argue that political participation could lead to individual emancipation in terms of a rise of political knowledge and, in the long term, political trust. lndeed, in the short term the increased politica lknowledge associated with participation might enable citizens to better define their self-interest, which may be inconsistent with actual policies pursued by the local authorities and thus might be conductive to distrust. In the empirical part we will test these assertions using two-wave panel data fora random sample of 457 individuals in the district of Deurne (Antwerp - Belgium). Our results suggest that in the short term
participation leads to more local political knowledge and distrust in the local administration. However, we do not find a significant increase in politica! trust in the long term.

How to Cite:

Thijssen, P. & Dierckx, D., (2012) “Politieke participatie : Wat doet dat met een mens ? : Een panelstudie van Belgische lokale data”, Res Publica 54(2), 141-162.