Citizen Competence in a Democracy

Citizens’ tend to make political decisions that are affected by their understanding of political institutions. People with a full understanding of political institutions have conceptual maps of the world that are less uncertain. Without this knowledge people see economic and social change as more uncertain and unexplainable. Any discussion of citizen competence must acknowledge the importance of political knowledge in helping people to evaluate politicians and policies. Citizens’ limited knowledge of political institutions and the …

…Dole, can be as clear as a sustained volley in tennis; to persons without any knowledge of institutions their exchange is hard to follow and becomes indistinguishable from a food fight or mud slinging. In summation, citizen competence (citizen engagement) is vital to the life and survival of political knowledge and involvement. The two are interchangeable, and reliant upon each other. The more the people know of political details, the higher the involvement will be.