Unconventional Participation

Tomorrow's topic is unconventional participation. In general, political participation refers to actions taken by citizens to influence government structures, personnel, and/or policies; forms of participation are labeled "unconventional" when they entail actions that "can lead to arrest and punishment."*

In class, we'll be focusing especially on civil disobedience (AKA "passive resistance") -- that is, the deliberate refusal to obey an unjust law so as to achieve its repeal -- and some of its critics. Civil rights activists made good use of this peaceful protest method to achieve policy reform during the 1960s. For example, the lunch-counter "sit-in" campaign that was initiated by Greensboro, NC college students in 1960 (see picture) featured blatant violations of state and local ordinances as a means for achieving the desegregation of restaurants and other public facilities.

As Smith highlights, though, unconventional participation can also take on a decidedly violent cast. This map (and accompanying discussion) illustrates the extent and effects of political violence in the United States during the 20th century. The site author notes that "the biggest peculiarity of American political violence is that there's not more of it," especially in light of the US's relatively high prevalence of non-political violence. It's an interesting observation, and of course begs the question of why it's turned out this way.

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*Raymond A. Smith, The American Anomaly: U.S. Government and Politics in Comparative Perspective (New York: Routledge, 2008) p. 163.