Civic Time Use of Citizens

Comparing Britain's civic culture Paul Stoneman www.essex.ac.uk/chimera/projects/esoctu QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

To come…

• Measuring Civic Culture with the aid of time use variables • Britain’s Civic Culture Compared with other West European Countries • Technologies and ‘Civic Literacy’ “the knowledge and skills that we need for effective participation in the community, government, and politics” (see also Crick Report, Political Literacy) www.essex.ac.uk/chimera QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

To be passionate about politics…

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…is to be some kind of nut. (Roseman, Abelson, and Ewing: 1986) • Why? Because it is not rational – the ‘free-rider’ problem • In-fact, very few regularly participate – only 9.2 percent of Brits record time allocated to civic acts (MTUS 2000) • We rely on a few (mad?) ‘High Intensity’ participators (Seyd & Whiteley: 2004) www.essex.ac.uk/chimera

Participation and Citizenship

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Civic Culture Measures

Levels of: • Voting • Political Party Orientated Acts • Seeking out Political Information • Secondary Associations • Other Acts: protesting, boycotting, petition QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

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How do we (the Brits) Compare?

1 . Average Time Allocated to Civic Acts (MTUS 2000) 2. Formal Acts (ESS 2004):

• Did you vote in last general election?

• Are you a member of or have worked for a political party?

3. Civic Literacy (ESS 2004):

• How often did you use the mass media for information on current affairs (includes internet)?

• How often do you discuss politics?

4. Informal Acts (ESS 2004):

• Do you participate in the any of the following organisations?

• Have/are you likely to: Protest? Sign a petition? Boycott/buycott a product?

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Time Use Diary Data (MTUS, 2000 to 2005)

Amount of Time Spent in Civic Activities

10

Avg. m ins per day

8 2 0 6 4 16 14 12 UK Norw ay France

Country

Netherlands www.essex.ac.uk/chimera Germany QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

Vote Last General Election (2000 to 2005)

Percent

50 40 30 20 10 0 90 80 70 60

Fr an ce UK Po rtu ga l Ire la nd Fin la nd Sp ain N or w ay G erm an y Country

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N eth ln ds Sw ed en Ita ly A us tria D en m ark

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Member of a Political Party (ESS 2004) 10

Percent

8 6 4 2 0 16 14 12

Fra nc e Un ite d K in Sp ain gd om G erm an y Ita ly Po rtu ga l Ne the rla nd Ire lan d s De nm ark Fin lan d Sw ed en No rw ay Au str ia Country

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How Often Use Media for Public Information (ESS 2004) 45 44 43 42 41 40 35 34 33 32 39 38 37 36 31 30

Ita ly Un ite d K G ing erm do m an y Sw ed en Au str ia Fin lan d Fra nc e Sp ain Country

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Po rtu ga l Ne the rla nd s Ire lan d De nm ark No rw ay

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How Often Discuss Politics (ESS 2004)

(2 = Couple times a year; 3 = Monthly basis; 4 = Weekly basis)

4 3.5

3 2.5

2 1.5

Sp ain Ita ly Ire lan d Un ite d K Po ing rtu do m ga l Sw ed en Fra nc e Ne the rla nd No rw ay s De nm ark Au str ia Country

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Fin lan d G erm an y

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Participate in Voluntary Organisations (ESS)

Pe rce nt

20 15 10 5 35 30 25 0

Po rtu ga l Ita ly Un ite d K Ire lan d ing do m Sp ain De nm ark Fra nc e G erm an y Au str ia Country

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Ne the rla nd s Sw ed en No rw ay Fin lan d

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Protest (sign petition, attend public demo - ESS) QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

18.0% 16.0% 14.0% 12.0% 10.0% 8.0% 6.0% 4.0% 2.0% 0.0%

Po rtu ga l Ne the rla nd Fin lan d s Ita ly Ire lan d De nm ark Au str ia G erm an y Sp ain Un ite d K in No rw ay gd om Sw ed en Fra nc e Country

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Boycotting and buycotting (ESS 2004) 45.0% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0%

Pe rce nt

25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0%

Po rtu ga l Ita ly Sp ain Ne the rla nd Ire lan d s Au str ia No rw ay Fra nc e Un ite d K G ing erm do m an y De nm ark Fin lan d Sw ed en Country

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Civic Culture Score (ESS 2004) 2 1

Score

0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 5 4 3

Ita ly

Very weak formal – reasonably strong informal

Un ite d K Po ing do rtu m ga l Ire lan d Sp ain Fra nc e G erm an y Ne the rla nd Au str ia s Fin lan d Sw ed en De nm ark No rw ay Country

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How do technologies play a role?

• Main source of political information (Norris 2000) • Promotes political interest and discussion (ESS 2004 controlling for age, gender and education) QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

• Enhances Civic Literacy (Milner 2002) www.essex.ac.uk/chimera

The Importance of Civic Literacy

• Formal and Informal Activities Separate QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

• Civic Literacy Activities Correlate With Both!

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Spatial Representation of How Civic Acts Cluster QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

Formal Acts Civic Literacy Informal Acts www.essex.ac.uk/chimera

Different Technologies, Different Behaviours?

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Formal Acts Discussion mediates Internet + Informal Acts www.essex.ac.uk/chimera

Are these associations just an artefact of age and education?

• NO! Controlling for age, gender, education: QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

.075* Newspaper Internet Radio .069* .086** .157*** www.essex.ac.uk/chimera Vote Party???

Vol Org Informal

Has internet usage facilitated civic culture switch?

• No…formal civic measures were declining BEFORE widespread internet uptake • Decline in voting and party membership long term phenomena since early 1970s (Dalton 2000; Whiteley 2004) • Likewise, trust in British governments (Stoneman 2005) QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

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So what has? People uninspired by the two main parties… 90 80 70 20 10 0 60 50 40 30 Last time most people believed two main parties were different Lowest turnout since 1918 1987 1992 great difference

year

some difference 1997 not much www.essex.ac.uk/chimera 2001 QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

The ‘Benign’ Internet and Mass Media

• Between 1997 and 2001, internet uptake in Britain huge – good timing!

• The internet has provided British citizens avenues to channel their political energies into at a time when ‘formal’ avenues are increasingly seen as a waste of time • Some forms of media usage improves interest and participation in politics (Newton 1997; Norris 2001; Milner 2002) • In particular, the internet has increased ‘informal’ participation rates and a sense of political efficacy (Ward 2002, 2005) www.essex.ac.uk/chimera QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

Conclusion

• Britain currently suffers from a weak ‘formal’ civic culture • This is primarily due to problems with the party system • Citizens have moved into more informal types of participation • With apt timing, Internet usage has facilitated this – a good thing (despite what the PM’s Chief Strategy Advisor says) QuickT i me™ and a T IFF (Unc ompres s ed) dec ompres s or are needed t o s ee thi s pi c ture.

So….

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New Technologies Play An Important But Limited Role • The Internet opens up new avenues for the interested but currently disengaged • However! The Internet will not stimulate interest amongst the apathetic – only politicians and parties can sort that one out!

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Thankyou for listening

• For working paper, references and/or further information contact: [email protected]

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