Political Awareness and Active Citizenship

Abstract

This panel addresses political awareness (PA), how it is developed, it´s role in political participation and it´s theoretical and practical relationship to citizenship. Political awareness is understood as a reservoir of predispositions, which citizens use to understand political messages communicated in public, in interpersonal relations and discussions and active participation in political affairs. Such predispositions are first of all knowledge of politics, of issues, cleavages and self-interest. Second predispositions may also be ideologies like liberalism, conservative or Marxist traditions. Accompanying ideologies widely held standards like values of freedom, trust, equality, solidarity, inclusiveness, respect, tolerance and more truly guide citizens perceptions of information, how they accept or reject it. Similarly, attitudes to certain issues, identification with groups (like poor and immigrants) matter for the attentiveness to information, their understanding of the political world and above all on decisions to engage with political affairs and practice active citizenship. Particularly we see attentiveness to political affairs as important to political participation, support as well as distrust for political system and affairs and ultimately the praxis of political citizenship. For these and other reasons it is very important to reveal what political awareness is, how it mediates information and inform citizen’s understanding of the political world and how PA connects to active citizenship. We invite contributors who would like to explore how political awareness and welcome all papers on political awareness in particular those that explore: • PA and ideals and challenges of active citizenship· • PA and practices, realisations and attitudes linked to active citizenship • How political awareness is linked to settings of and localities for active citizenship • How PA is understood, developed, particularly in educational structures and practices in citizenship education.