Networks of Non-Participation: Comparing 'Supportive', 'Unsupportive' and 'Undecided' Non-Participants in the UK Student Protests against Fees and Cuts

Hensby, Alexander (2017) Networks of Non-Participation: Comparing 'Supportive', 'Unsupportive' and 'Undecided' Non-Participants in the UK Student Protests against Fees and Cuts. Sociology, 51 (5). pp. 957-974. ISSN 0038-0385. (doi:10.1177/0038038515608113) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided)

Abstract

As a topic in its own right, political non-participation is under-studied in the social sciences. While existing approaches have tended to focus on the gaps between engagement patterns and public policy, or the rational disincentives to an individual’s participation, less attention has been paid to the explanatory power of socio-cultural factors. Taking its lead from studies by Oegema and Klandermans and Norgaard, this article uses recent student protests in the UK as a case study for exploring non-participation. Drawing on survey and interview data, findings indicate that whereas network access and collective identification are commonly seen as helping produce and sustain political participation, networks of collective dis-identification might help to produce and sustain political non-participation.

Item Type:	Article
DOI/Identification number:	10.1177/0038038515608113
Uncontrolled keywords:	identity, mixed methods, mobilisation, non-participation, social movements, social networks, student activism
Subjects:	H Social Sciences H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology J Political Science L Education > L Education (General)
Divisions:	Faculties > Social Sciences > School of Social Policy Sociology and Social Research Faculties > Social Sciences > School of Social Policy Sociology and Social Research > Sociology
Depositing User:	Alexander Hensby
Date Deposited:	23 Oct 2015 16:39 UTC
Last Modified:	29 May 2019 16:12 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/51223 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)