Blog 8: Afghan Civil War

            In trying to discover why democracy takes root in some countries, but is non-existent in others, we explore some of the theories behind this occurrence.  One prominent theory is that of civic culture.  The core claim of this theory is that “if a country’s citizens value political equality and individual freedoms, then a democratic regime is more likely to emerge than if they do not hold those values” (Samuels, 123).  To measure this value of equality and individual freedom, we look at three specific elements of civic culture: civic engagement, political equality, and solidarity. 

To test the civic culture theory we can look at the example of the United Kingdom. Here we find that there is a correlation between being very democratic and having a culture valuing political equality and individual freedoms.  The “Freedom in the World Index” rated the United Kingdom as “Free” in 2010, with political rights and civil liberties scores of 1.0 (Freedom House).  These numbers suggest that the United Kingdom is very democratic.  Next we can analyze each element of the civic culture of the United Kingdom to see if this theory holds true with for this example of a state with a high level democracy.

One aspect of civic culture, civic engagement, has to do with “citizens’ active participation in public affairs, such as by voting or participating in social movements, interest groups, or political parties” (Samuels, 123).  In 2010, the voter turnout for the UK was 65.1% and over the last 50 years has been as low as 59.4% and as high as 78.8% (UK Political Info).  This shows that in general, more than half of voters take advantage of their rights each year.  Citizens of the UK also show high levels of civic engagement by their involvement in petition signing.  68.2% of respondents said they have signed a petition and only 8.5% said they never would sign a petition (World Values).  Not only is their participation, but “freedom of assembly and association are respected” in the UK (Freedom House).

Another element of civic culture is political equality, which involves equal rights and obligations.  The representation of the people (equal franchise) Act of 1928, opened voting rights to men and women over age 21 (Wikipedia), giving the UK universal suffrage.  In a 2006 survey, 62.3% of UK citizens said that women having the same rights as men is definitely a necessary aspect of democracy, while only .7% of participants said it definitely was not, showing that not only is there universal suffrage, but it is important to citizens that there is voter equality (World Values).

The third element is solidarity, which is “related to general trust and respect among citizens” (Samuels, 124).  In regards to their family, the UK was one of the most trusting states.  85.9% said they completely trust their families, and 80.4% said in general they trust their neighbors (World Values).  This shows a relatively strong connection of trust within their nation, and suggests significant solidarity.

Based on this information we can see that in the case of the United Kingdom the civic culture argument holds true.  It is proven by the correlation of a relatively high level of democracy and citizens who show that they value equality and individual freedoms.

Works Cited

Samuels, David J. Comparative Politics. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2012. Print. 123-124.

Freedom House. “United Kingdom.” Freedom in the World Index 2010. 2010. Web. 3 Oct. 2012

UK Political Info. “General Election Turnout 1945-2010”. UK Political Info. 2012. Web. 3 Oct. 2012.

World Values Survey. "Online Date Analysis." World Values Survey. N.p., 2011. Web. 3 Oct. 2012

Wikipedia Contributors. “Representation of the People (Equal Franchise Act) 1928.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27 Sep 2012. Web. 3 Oct. 2012