Socio-historical foundations of citizenship practice: after social revolution in Portugal Articles uri icon

publication date

  • November 2016

start page

  • 531

end page

  • 553

issue

  • 6

volume

  • 45

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0304-2421

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1573-7853

abstract

  • This article shows how macro-historical processes of change can activate robust and enduring forms of citizenship practice, providing both survey-based evidence for this claim and a theorization of the causal mechanisms involved. Focusing on the case of Portugal, where democratization followed the historically unusual path of social revolution, we examine survey data on civic practice covering twenty countries and find Portugal to be a world leader in public participation in the electronic public sphere. When we examine the subsection of the population socialized politically in the country's post-revolutionary democracy, we find another important indicator of lively citizenship practice. The article takes the examination of this specific national case as the basis for developing an argument of broad theoretical relevance on the social underpinnings of lively and participatory citizenship practice.

keywords

  • citizenship; civic practice; democratization; portugal; public sphere; social revolution