{"title":"The Influence of Political Efficacy on Voter Turnout in South Africa","authors":"Thoko Mahlangu, C. Schulz-Herzenberg","doi":"10.1080/02589346.2022.2067446","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT South Africa's recent democratic elections have witnessed a decline in political participation. Yet few studies examine the influence of political efficacy on the decision to participate. Using 2014 and 2019 post-election public opinion survey data captured after these respective national and provincial elections, the paper addresses a research gap by demonstrating a relationship between a respondent's level of internal and external political efficacy and their likelihood of voting across two consecutive elections. It finds that external political efficacy, and to a lesser extent, internal efficacy shapes the decision to vote. The responsiveness of the political system is a key determinant of voting even after other key predictors of participation are accounted for. It concludes that years of state-based failures have eroded citizen perceptions of political system responsiveness which has, in turn, undermined how citizens perceive the utility of their vote.","PeriodicalId":45047,"journal":{"name":"Politikon","volume":"49 1","pages":"158 - 174"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Politikon","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2022.2067446","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"POLITICAL SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
ABSTRACT South Africa's recent democratic elections have witnessed a decline in political participation. Yet few studies examine the influence of political efficacy on the decision to participate. Using 2014 and 2019 post-election public opinion survey data captured after these respective national and provincial elections, the paper addresses a research gap by demonstrating a relationship between a respondent's level of internal and external political efficacy and their likelihood of voting across two consecutive elections. It finds that external political efficacy, and to a lesser extent, internal efficacy shapes the decision to vote. The responsiveness of the political system is a key determinant of voting even after other key predictors of participation are accounted for. It concludes that years of state-based failures have eroded citizen perceptions of political system responsiveness which has, in turn, undermined how citizens perceive the utility of their vote.
期刊介绍:
Politikon focuses primarily on South African politics, but not exclusively so. Over the years the journal has published articles by some of the world" leading political scientists, including Arend Lijphart, Samuel Huntingdon, and Philippe Schmitter. It has also featured important contributions from South Africa"s leading political philosophers, political scientists and international relations experts. It has proved an influential journal, particularly in debates over the merits of South Africa"s constitutional reforms (in 1983 and 1994). In the last few years special issues have focused on women and politics in South Africa, and the South African election of 1999.