The scope of participatory activities has considerably broadened in recent years with conventional forms of political participation receding. The paper attempts to explore the (changing?) nature of political participation in Cyprus, Greece and Spain. The countries under examination share similar historical patterns of authoritarianism and a common recent experience of economic upheaval and unrest due to the swiping economic crisis. This paper addresses some of the consequences of these recent changes, with an emphasis on patterns, forms, trends and determinants of political participation. The paper also asks whether the citizens’ self-placement on the left-right ideological continuum and their proximity to political parties determine different types of behaviour based on ideology. The paper is based on the results of the European Social Surveys of 2008, 2010 and 2012.
