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Author(s): Piotr Michalski [sup.1] , Marta Marchlewska [sup.1] , Aleksandra Furman [sup.2] , Dagmara Szczepanska [sup.1] , Orestis Panayiotou [sup.1] , Zuzanna Molenda [sup.1] , Paulina Górska [sup.2] Author Affiliations: [...], Well-functioning democracies depend on citizens' ability to make accurate political judgments and express them in the public sphere. Thus, in this research, we aim to better understand the role of political knowledge and political trust in shaping young Poles' willingness to engage in unconventional participation such as signing a petition, boycotting specific products, taking part in a peaceful demonstration, or engaging in social media activities. We distinguish between two types of political knowledge: knowledge about the rules of the game and current political knowledge, which provide a more insightful look into the complex nature of relationships between political knowledge, political trust, and unconventional participation. In two studies (Study 1, N = 570 and Study 2; N = 1048) we found that unconventional participation was positively predicted by political trust, and political knowledge about the rules of the game. We also found a significant interaction effect between political trust and current political knowledge, suggesting that those high in current political knowledge may be more willing to participate only when being distrustful towards the current political system. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Author(s): Bailey Flanigan [sup.1] , Paul Gölz [sup.1] , Anupam Gupta [sup.1] , Brett Hennig [sup.2] , Ariel D. Procaccia [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) Computer Science Department, Carnegie Mellon University, [...], Globally, there has been a recent surge in 'citizens' assemblies'.sup.1, which are a form of civic participation in which a panel of randomly selected constituents contributes to questions of policy. The random process for selecting this panel should satisfy two properties. First, it must produce a panel that is representative of the population. Second, in the spirit of democratic equality, individuals would ideally be selected to serve on this panel with equal probability.sup.2,3. However, in practice these desiderata are in tension owing to differential participation rates across subpopulations.sup.4,5. Here we apply ideas from fair division to develop selection algorithms that satisfy the two desiderata simultaneously to the greatest possible extent: our selection algorithms choose representative panels while selecting individuals with probabilities as close to equal as mathematically possible, for many metrics of 'closeness to equality'. Our implementation of one such algorithm has already been used to select more than 40 citizens' assemblies around the world. As we demonstrate using data from ten citizens' assemblies, adopting our algorithm over a benchmark representing the previous state of the art leads to substantially fairer selection probabilities. By contributing a fairer, more principled and deployable algorithm, our work puts the practice of sortition on firmer foundations. Moreover, our work establishes citizens' assemblies as a domain in which insights from the field of fair division can lead to high-impact applications. Principles from the field of fair division are used to develop selection algorithms for citizens' assemblies that produce panels that are representative of the population while simultaneously selecting individuals with near-equal probabilities.

While a robust literature tracks the ways in which racializedyouth are excluded from dominant spaces, this article examines the effects of policies and programs that invite them in. The growing interest in youth inclusion and participation can be linked to key global influences such as the increasing shift towards asset-based and Positive Youth Development (PYD) models, that currently influences government policy and funding strategies in Canada and other countries. Using Foucault's governmentality framework, I engage in a brief examination of Ontario's document, Stepping Up: A Strategic Framework to Help Ontario's Youth Succeed (2013), to understand how youth inclusion, participation, and civic engagement are imagined. This article seeks to disturb current constructs of marginalized youth voice and inclusion within dominant discourse in Canada and argues that these discourses function as a form of affirmative governmentality. I discuss the conditions of meaningful youth inclusion and participation, which requires questioning normative constructs of youth, acknowledging the structural oppressions experienced by young people, and working with youth to understand their own notions of participation. Keywords: Youth inclusion and participation; affirmative governmentality; youth policies Bien qu'il existe deja beaucoup de donnees sur les manieres dont les jeunes racialises sont exclus des espaces dominants, cet article se penche sur les effets des politiques et programmes qui veulent les inclure. L'interet croissant pour la participation et l'inclusion des jeunes est peutetre lie a des influences globales majeures, comme le virement vers des modeles tels le developpement fonde sur les acquis et le developpement positif des jeunes, qui presentement a beaucoup d'influence sur les politiques et le financement gouvernemental au Canada et ailleurs. Utilisant le concept de gouvernementalite de Foucault, j'examine le document de l'Ontario Stepping Up: A Strategic Framework to Help Ontario's Youth Succeed (2013), afin de comprendre comment l'inclusion, la participation, et l'engagement civique des jeunes, sont imagines. Cet article veut troubler les constructions courantes de la voix et de l'inclusion des jeunes marginalises dans les discours dominants au Canada. Je propose que ces discours servent en tant que gouvernementalite positive. Je discute des conditions qui creent une inclusion et une participation veritables des jeunes, ce qui exige questionner les constructions normative de la jeunesse, tout en reconnaissant que les oppressions structurelles auxquelles les jeunes font face, et travailler a comprendre leurs propres notions de participation. Mots clefs: participation et inclusion des jeunes; gouvernementalite; politiques des jeunes, Introduction While a robust literature tracks the ways in which racialized and marginalized youth are excluded from dominant spaces, little attention has been paid to the effects of policies and [...]

Cynic, n. 'A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.'--Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary AMERICANS ARE POLITICAL CYNICS. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT CURRENT [...]

What is the impact of exposure to criminal violence on support for political institutions in Latin America? The increase in criminal violence in the region since the return to democratic rule makes this a timely question. Several scholars have demonstrated the impact of a series of variables (political performance, economic performance, interpersonal trust, perception of corruption) on citizens' support for political institutions (system support). The goal of this study is to assess the impact of two additional variables (victimization and perception of violence) that have been neglected in the literature. I test the impact of exposure to violence on system support by using survey data from the 2004 edition of the Latin American Public Opinion Project. My findings demonstrate that both victimization and high perception of violence have a negative impact on system support in Latin America. ?Cual es el impacto de la exposicion a la violencia sobre el apoyo sistemico a las instituciones politicas en America Latina? El aumento de la violencia criminal en la region desde el retorno a la democracia provee una oportunidad para intentar responder a esta pregunta. Varios investigadores demostraron que una serie de variables (performance politica, performance economica, confianza interpersonal, percepcion de corrupcion) tienen un impacto importante sobre el apoyo de los ciudadanos a las instituciones politicas. El objetivo de este estudio es analizar el impacto de dos variables adicionales (victimizacion y percepcion de violencia) que fueron menos estudiadas en la literatura de comportamiento politico. Analizo el impacto de exposicion a la violencia sobre el apoyo a las instituciones politicas usando la edicion 2004 de las encuestas del Latin American Public Opinion Project. Mis resultados demuestran que tanto victimizacion como percepcion de violencia tienen un impacto negativo sobre el apoyo a las instituciones politicas en America Latina., Does criminal violence affect support for political institutions (i.e., system support)? What is the impact of victimization and high perception of violence on citizens' system support? The explosion of criminal [...]

This study uses national survey data in federal election years from 1996 through 2004 to examine voter registration and voting. It shows that racial/ethnic disparities in socioeconomic resources and rootedness in the community do not explain overall group differences in electoral participation. It contradicts the expectation from an assimilation perspective that low levels of Latino participation are partly attributable to the large share of immigrants among Latinos. In fact net differences show higher average Latino participation than previously reported. The study focuses especially on contextual factors that could affect collective responses of group members. Moving beyond past research, significant effects are found for the group's representation among office holders, voting regulations and state policies related to treatment of immigrants., Abundant research demonstrates the effects of personal background characteristics on political participation, such as age, education and residential stability. Such characteristics, often described as indicators of 'resources and rootedness,' are [...]

This article sheds some light on the widely exercised but little understood political activity of the petition and its potential in local politics. It posits the petition as a tool of group politics used by citizens to obtain some favorable policy decision. Among many factors that determine the success of an initiative, three are examined: (1) resources, operationalized simply as number of names collected; (2) media attention, which can raise the salience of the issue; and (3) coherence, operationalized as the number of issues a petition implicates. Hypotheses are tested against evidence gathered from 126 petitions circulated in two municipal regions. Results imply the petition can help facilitate greater citizen involvement in public affairs. Keywords: Public Administration, Petitions, Successful Petitioning, Bureaucracy, Participation, Political Participation, North America, Citizenship, Democracy and Civil Society, Local Politics. Este articulo intenta esclarecer el ampliamente practicado pero poco comprendido ejercicio de las peticiones politicas y su potencial en la politica a nivel local. En el se postula a la peticion politica como una herramienta de la politica grupal usada por los ciudadanos para obtener una decision politica favorable. Entre los factores que determinan el exito de una iniciativa, tres son examinados: (1) recursos, considerados como el numero de nombres recolectados; (2) cobertura por los medios de comunicacion, que puede aumentar la importancia del tema; y (3) coherencia, considerado como el numero de consecuencias que implica una peticion. Hipotesis son corroboradas con evidencia recolectada de 126 peticiones puestas en circulacion en dos regiones municipales. Los resultados implican que las peticiones pueden ayudar a facilitar una mayor participacion ciudadana en asuntos publicos., Considerable discussion on what to do about growing citizen disillusionment with public officials points to the potential efficacy of local citizen-initiated modes of democratic participation (Innes and Booher 2004; Kathi [...]

This article extends the application of the public service motivation (PSM) construct from differences between volunteers and employees in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors to the phenomenon of political activities that occurs during the public policy process. Based upon regression analysis performed on a sample of undergraduate students enrolled in introductory political science courses at a large public university, PSM appears to affect overall levels of political participation. Additionally, the rational, normative, and affective dimensions of PSM appear to affect specific types of political activity in different manners. This article argues that the PSM construct provides a way to measure individual-level receptiveness to civic motivators, an important purposive incentive that spurs political participation. Keywords: Public Service Motivation, Political Participation, Political Mobilization, Volunteering, Advocacy. Este articulo extiende la aplicacion del constructo motivacional por el servicio publico a partir de diferencias entre voluntarios y empleados en el publico, organizaciones sin fines de lucro y el sector privado al fenomeno de actividades politicas que ocurren durante el proceso de politicas publicas. Basado en un analisis de regresion usado en una muestra de estudiantes de licenciatura inscritos en un curso introductorio de ciencia politica en una importante universidad publica, la motivacion por el servicio publico parece afectar todos los niveles de participacion politica. Adicionalmente, las dimensiones racionales, normativas y afectivas de la motivacion por el servicio publico parecen afectar generos especificos de actividad politica de diferentes maneras. Este estudio argumenta que el constructo motivacional por el servicio publico proporciona una forma de medir niveles individuales de receptividad hacia motivadores civicos, un importante incentivo deliberado que estimula la participacion politica., Regardless of political stripe or policy desire, one thing that brings together political parties, candidates, and interest groups is the need to secure the efforts of individuals. People are needed [...]

Seeing the domestic campaign sign as a cultural landscape element offers the opportunity to examine geographical patterns of political participation and assess the social and cultural processes related to these patterns. Examining the geographical patterns of campaign sign postings in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and comparing them to demographic information, electoral results, and to these same measures for the 2004 election illustrate that political participation was affected along racial lines in the 2008 election. Black citizens saw increased participation rates, white citizens saw decreased participation rates, and the entire study area saw a move toward Democratic support. However, part of this move may have been the result of decreased participation among conservative white voters. Campaign signs do appear to have a relationship with other forms of political participation, namely voting, and also appear to be useful proxy data for potential electoral results. Entender los carteles de campanas locales como un elemento del paisaje cultural ofrece la oportunidad de examinar la distribucion geografica de la participacion politica y evaluar los procesos sociales y culturales relacionados con estos patrones. Examinando la distribucion geografica de la localizacion de los carteles de campana en Hattiesburg, Mississippi, y comparando esto con informacion demografica y resultados electorales, y estas mismas medidas para las elecciones de 2004, se observa que la participacion politica en las elecciones de 2008 se rio afectada a lo largo de lineas raciales. Los ciudadanos negros vieron un incremento en las tasas de participacion, los ciudadanos blancos experimentaron una disminucion en las tasas de participacion, y toda el drea de estudio observo un movimiento hacia el apoyo democrata. Sin embargo, parte de este movimiento puede haber sido el resultado de una menor participacion entre los votantes blancos conservadores. Los carteles de campana parecen tener una relacion con otras formas de participacion politica, a saber, derecho al voto, y tambien parecen ser datos utiles para representar potenciales resultados electorales. KEY WORDS: cultural landscape, political geography, race and voting, Southern politics, campaign sign, INTRODUCTION This study uses the domestic campaign sign to assess the impact of race on political participation in Hattiesburg, Mississippi during the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election. Approaching the campaign sign [...]

The relationship between democracy and constitutions is a long and fractious one. Those who lean towards the constitutionalist side have tended to perceive democracy as a threat to political order and the preservation of important values, whereas those who take a more democratist stance tend to treat constitutions as elite hindrances to popular rule as much as anything else. In this paper, we will give the constitutionalist thesis a broader theoretical and political scrutiny. By way of explanation, we will address and recommend the possibilities and problems for putting into practical operation such an anti-constitutionalist stance; the recent experience of the U.S. State of California offers itself as a good forcing-ground for these ideas. In short, from a democratic standpoint, the challenge for the citizenry is not so much about defining the values of constitutions, but constitutions whose change is outside the scope of popular decision making, supposed to exclusively take place through judicial interpretation or through an amendment formula designed precisely to make change difficult and unlikely. Too often, constitutions place checks and limits on democratic participation in the name of some other set of vaunted truths or elite-favouring values. For the strong democrat, it is formal constitutions and their institutional paraphernalia that do more to inhibit and dull democracy's emancipatory potential than to nurture and fulfil it. Keywords: change, constitutionalism, decision making, democracy, participation, Some men look at constitutions with sanctimonious reverence and deem them like the ark of the covenant, too sacred to be touched. They ascribe to the men of the preceding [...]

RECENT YEARS HAVE WITNESSED efforts to facilitate political participation by expanding the period during which voters can cast a ballot. An increasing number of states now permit casting ballots weeks [...], In this article we examine the effect of efforts on the part of election administrators in Georgia to compel registrants to cast ballots early in-person during the 2008 presidential election. We incorporate data collected from a survey of Georgia election administrators into a multivariate model designed to explain early in-person turnout at the county level. Our results indicate that county election officials who attempted to increase early in-person voting through advertising and outreach were successful. In addition, early in-person turnout was positively linked to voter convenience. Most previous research has examined non-precinct voting from the perspective of the consumer (voter). Our work demonstrates the need to also explore this area from the standpoint of producers (election officials) who are charged with implementation of policy. If election officials want to promote early voting, our findings indicate they should utilize a wide range of formats to familiarize their voting population with this option. In addition, careful thought should also be given to the number of early voting sites, their locations, and hours of operation if the goal is to get a sizable segment of the electorate to vote prior to the date of the election.

ABSTRACT This paper examines a range of literature on participatory development, with particular attention to the problems of practice. The challenges are then illustrated by three community development initiatives in [...]

[This work provides comparative insights into how deliberation on proposed constitutional amendments might be more effectively pursued. It reports on a new nationwide survey of public attitudes to constitutional reform, [...]

This analysis draws on data from a survey of women in English-speaking Canada to examine whether early exposure to politics in the home can counteract the effects of female socialization. We examine the effect of parents' political activity on their adult daughters' interest in politics, political knowledge, and participation in both electoral (e.g., party membership and voting) and nonelectoral (e.g., demonstrations and political consumerism) forms of political action. We find that a politically active mother can have a role-model effect (net of other factors, such as education and age, that might affect a woman's level of political engagement) and that her influence outweighs that of a politically active father. KEYWORDS political socialization, political engagement, political activity DOI: 10.1080/1554477X.2010.533590

On its face, the Indian American (1) community's journey from being ostracized as an "undesirable alien, as a lesser breed, or a benighted heathen" (2) to being heralded as ambassadors [...]

Extant research shows that individuals who discuss politics and current events with their peers also participate more actively in civil society. However, this correlation is not sufficient evidence of causation due to a number of analytical biases. To address this problem, data were collected through a panel study conducted on students who were randomly assigned to dormitories during their first year of college. In addition, the data were preprocessed before analysis with a matching procedure. These data show that discussing politics and current events caused these students to participate in civic activities during their first year of college. A follow-up study conducted on the same population during their fourth year of college shows that the positive effect of civic talk on civic participation still exists despite the passage of three years. Further analysis shows that the boost in civic participation initially after engaging in civic talk is the mechanism by which the effect of civic talk lasts into the future., Because civic participation is integral to the performance of democracy, the question of what causes a person to step out of his or her private life and enter the public [...]

This article is an exploration of the political and economic forces which condition the possibilities for political engagement among a segment of the petty bourgeoisie in urban France. By drawing on Bourdieu's idea of habitus, I explore the ways in which the ideologies and practices of petty capitalism incline the Chinese small entrepreneurs toward political abstinence as they confront the changes in norms of citizenship that accompany neoliberal transformation. Keywords: Chinese; migrants; politics; class; France; citizenship. DOI: 10.1080/01419870903023678

In this paper, we set the scene for this special issue by outlining the main concerns that underlie the study of migrant politics and related forms of social and political mobilization. We begin by examining the changing ways in which migrant and minority politics and mobilization have been articulated in recent decades, exploring key facets of the intersections between forms of migrant and minority mobilization and the wider social and political environment. We continue by discussing how these politics and mobilization have been analysed, both from a conceptual and empirical angle. We conclude by mapping the core themes of the substantive papers that make up this volume and by highlighting some issues for further research. Keywords: Incorporation: migrants; migrant politics: minorities; mobilization: politics: citizenship. DOI: 10.1080/01419870903418944

Testing the proposition that electing black mayors has a positive effect on black political participation, scholars found that black incorporation historically lead to increased black political engagement. However, the research that examines whether length of mayoral tenure influences black political participation is limited. We test this proposition using the 1993-1994 National Black Politics Study. Our findings suggest long-term political incorporation decreases local black political participation while it increases voting for President. However, as the black population percentage of a city rises, local black political participation increases. These findings extend the research on the effect of political incorporation on participation by considering political and demographic context and by engaging in intraracial rather than interracial comparisons. Keywords: black politics,' black empowerment; black political incorporation; political behavior; political participation; urban politics 10.1177/1078087409341546

Political discussions within interpersonal networks not only help communicate political information that is otherwise too costly to obtain, but they also expose people to political views that are not necessarily congruent to their own predispositions. In exploring consequences of exposure to political disagreements, existing literature finds an interesting dilemma: Although political disagreements contribute to the deliberative democracy by encouraging greater awareness of rationales for opposing views as well as greater political tolerance, they undermine the prospect for participatory democracy by demobilizing people. In response, this article shows that experiences of political disagreements do not necessarily discourage political participation. More specifically, based on the American National Election Study 2000, we find that the demobilizing effect of political disagreements continues to decrease with increasing levels of indifference and alienation between the candidates. Furthermore, among highly alienated individuals, we find that experiences of political disagreements can actually promote their voting turnout. Keywords: political networks; disagreement; political participation; deliberative democracy; political discussion

Individuals who discuss politics and current events in their social network also participate in civic activities. However, analytical biases make it difficult to show a causal relationship between these two phenomena. To obtain a more accurate measurement of the effect that civic talk has on civic participation, data were collected through a panel study conducted on students who were randomly assigned to their college dormitory roommates. These data show that engaging in civic talk causes civic participation. The evidence also shows that the civic talk effect is mitigated for individuals who are not already predisposed to participate in civic activities. Keywords: social networks; civic participation; political predispositions; political discussion; matching methods; political participation

This study documents state implementation of mechanisms designed to promote public participation in agency rulemaking. Many scholars have questioned the effectiveness of such mechanisms, arguing that they fail to encourage greater participation or that increased participation does not affect the substance of administrative rules. Using data from a unique survey of state administrators, the author employs multivariate analyses to assess the relationship between these measures and the perceived influence of external actors. The results suggest that critics may understate the importance of public notification and access procedures. These devices are associated with increases in the impact that a wide variety of actors are perceived to have on the content of agency rules.

Recent research argues that political mistrust among African Americans represents unhappiness with the political system. To date, however, no study has directly examined the influence of black mistrust on support for the system. In this study I show that greater mistrust among blacks leads to greater support for change in the party and electoral systems. I also find evidence of inter-racial differences in the influence of mistrust on support for the political system. These findings have implications for our understanding of the nature of political trust and add to a growing literature demonstrating the political consequences of mistrust in government. Keywords: political trust; system support; African Americans; race; electoral system

This article reports the results of a randomized field experiment designed to compare directly the mobilization impact of partisan versus nonpartisan messages delivered via commercial phone banks. The experiment, conducted during the November 2005 municipal elections in Albany, New York, incorporates a series of design innovations to improve on extant research and to assuage skepticism about the internal and external validity of previous studies conducted along these lines. The author finds that partisan messages delivered by professional call centers are no more effective than nonpartisan messages in mobilizing voters. Keywords: campaign communications, grassroots mobilization, commercial phone banks, field experiments, message content, partisan and nonpartisan appeals

Public support before the primaries is the strongest predictor of presidential candidate attrition and of the aggregate primary vote. Yet little is known about the factors that drive candidate preferences before the primaries. This article examines pre-primary candidate support in national Gallup polls for open presidential nomination races from 1976 to 2004. The study finds that candidate background characteristics have marginal effects on mass partisan support during the earliest phase of the nomination campaign and that campaign-related factors significantly affect preprimary candidate support once the campaign begins. Prior levels of support, network news coverage, and party elite endorsements are significant factors in explaining variation in mass partisan support for candidates throughout the nomination campaign. The decisions of well-known, party 'heavyweights' to enter or not enter the race affect the choices available to partisan voters and the overall competitiveness of the nomination campaign. Keywords: primaries; presidential nominations; party elites; polls

Scholars and policy makers argue that civic engagement is intrinsically linked to social capital. In particular, they assume that political participation and associational activity can minimize negative externalities for social capital associated with ethnic heterogeneity, such as mistrust and lack of respect. This research note tests this assumption by analyzing the relationship between civic engagement, ethnic heterogeneity, and perceptions of mutual respect and social cohesion among citizens in urban local government areas across England. The statistical results suggest that associational life is positively associated with social capital and that political participation enhances perceptions of mutual respect in ethnically diverse areas. The evidence provides support for arguments that civic engagement can moderate negative externalities for social capital associated with ethnic heterogeneity. Keywords: civic engagement; social capital; urban local government areas; England.

We expand on previous literature on party competition in the American states by examining competition for both state and national offices. We find significant differences in Democratic Party electoral advantage within states, along with across-state variation in changes in these differences over time. We attribute these results to movement in the partisanship and ideology of the states' citizenry. As consistency in these core political attitudes increases, parties are able to campaign and govern on messages that are more consistent across electoral levels. The result is greater consistency in party electoral performance across state and national offices. Keywords: party competition; ideology; partisanship; federalism

One expectation for American election campaigns is that they inform citizens about candidates' policy inclinations, clarifying the policy directions advocated by the major party nominees. Evidence from the 1998 elections to the House of Representatives indicates that the more negative issue advertisements were broadcast, the more confident citizens became that they knew the targeted candidate's ideological position. However, the more negative issue advertisements about a candidate aired, the greater citizens' perceptual error of the candidate's ideological position. Issue attack ads lead citizens to believe they know more than they actually do, failing to produce the democratic ideal of an informed electorate. Keywords: campaign advertising; certainty; candidate ideology; House elections

This article, based on an interview study of public engagement with the new Welsh Assembly building--the Senedd--theorizes the limits and opportunities of 'political tourism', or visits to sites of political importance. To understand visitors' engagement with the assembly building, we explore how they account for their reasons to visit, and their perceptions and expectations of the new building and institution. We identify two principal types of vocabulary displayed by members of the public in making sense of the building, those of political engagement and tourist consumption. Both are informed by what we refer to as practices of the 'democratic gaze'. Both vocabularies reveal, to varying degrees, the social mechanics of the gaze, and the inscription and interpretation of agency around the building's design. We conclude by exploring how this study can inform discussions of political engagement and tourism practices. KEY WORDS accounts / architecture / citizenship / democracy / devolution / identity / participation / Senedd / space / tourism /Wales

This study combines empirical political communication research models with theoretical accounts provided by the theory of communicative action to expand the understanding of how communication matters for democratic political functioning, particularly under conditions of social instability. Building on the Habermasian distinction between strategic orientations versus understanding orientations in conversation, the author explores the role of conversation orientations as antecedents to political engagement. Examination of conversation orientations in Colombia, a society characterized by social conflict, provides evidence of the democratic benefits of orientations toward reaching understanding and the deleterious effects of strategic orientations for political involvement, associational membership, and ultimately participation, as well as the importance of including conversation orientations as explanatory factors in models that seek to explain political involvement. These findings speak to the potential for communicative rationality to transcend the use of force and bring about action coordination based on understanding in communities experiencing civil strife. Keywords: political conversation; civic participation; communicative action