Do what you should do...” Improving the measurement of political participation from samples of Cordoba’s citizens (Argentina)

SILVINA BRUSSINO; PATRICIA SORRIBAS; HUGO RABBIA; DEBORA IMHOFF

Córdoba

Encuentro; Colloquim Methodological Challenges in Participation Research; 2011

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas de España y el Instituto de Estudios Sociales Avanzados

Some authors affirm that after the Argentinean crisis (2001-2002), there was a growth of the amount of political participation realized by different social groups. The present paper explores this supposition on the base of qualitative and quantitative data obtained from 8 fields carried out between 2003 and 2010.  The data analysis contributes with empirical evidence in relation with the political involvement and its modalities in Cordoba’s citizenry (Argentina) and permits to extend our comprehension of this variable based on the analysis of demographic and psycho-social aspects related to each modality. The data of every field was obtained from primary sources and the interview’s guides and questionnaires were designed depending on the aim purpose of each study. Although some psycho-social measures were used as equal form as in American and European research precedents, these are observed in general population from own local samples which avoids the problems that can cause the employment of secondary sources of political participation data from electoral governmental agencies. The employment of this type of source of information and the adjustment of the methodological design made possible to improve the items that evaluate the political participation (PP) as dependent variable. In 2003, we evaluated the party mobilization and the cognitive mobilization as the dimensions that construct a typology of political involvement. Considering the self-alignment of the participants in relation with national political parties, this typology indicates the link that citizens have with party political system. Based on this analysis, we discuss the typology of political mobilization proposed by Dalton (1984). From 2003 and 2005 data, we established a comparative analysis of the operative dimensions of PP. On the one side, the results highlight the explanatory value of the psycho-social and demographic independents variables and, for other side, allow focusing on the minor importance of evaluating the attitudes towards the PP (potential behavior) in comparison with the effective behavior. Considering only the effective behaviors avoid the overestimation of the amount of socio-political involvement of the population. The contribution of the psycho-social variables to the classification of the PP was checked in the 2006 sample by a qualitative strategy. After this, the local and contextual aspects of PP were analyzed on the local modalities that the PP assumes. Consequently the quantitative measure of PP was improved in the 2007 sample: besides the habitual dichotomy to evaluate the effective behavior, it was added an ordinal evaluation of the level of importance and of efficiency attributed to each behavior, and the level of personal commitment in the action. To strengthen the analysis two more samples were taken: general population (328 cases) and social and political activists (75 cases), and the participation dichotomously evaluated was compared with the effective participation weighted by the personal importance attributed to political action. In a second qualitative research we identify different attributives patterns that used to explain the self-reported political involvement and the PP of others, describing the contextual aspects that there acquire in different places. Finally, considering all the previous conclusions, two new surveys were realized in 2010 (a non probabilistic sample of quotas of age, sex and socioeconomic level, and a probabilistic sample of the general population from Córdoba) where the PP as dependent variable was evaluated across a scale of 33 items. This PP scale contemplates different political actions and includes the modalities observed with more frequency in previous studies. The scale include a) isolated actions (8 items); b) actions that imply the mediation of an organization with diverse levels of institutionalization (6 items); actions in relation with the political party and the electoral system (10 items); and actions associated with processes of semi-direct democracy (9 items). The participants have to answer open questions about the main purpose of every effective action, and also they have to make an evaluation of the degree of usefulness or efficiency (instrumentality) and of importance or commitment (affectability) attributed to each practice. The results allow an approximation to the extension that have in general population the link between participative dynamics propitiated from governmental institutions (top-down PP) and of those actions originated from the people (down-top PP). All these indicators contribute to the comprehension of the different ways through Cordoba’s citizenry express their points of views on public matters. This methodology allowed to specify that some behaviors that are performed individually in turn pursue individual purposes despite being mediated by social organizations and political parties, labor unions and civic organizations. These are behaviors which instrumentalize the link with organizations at different levels of formality (Neighborhood Centers, associations or unions, media, civil organizations and political parties) or with politicians (councilmen, mayors, legislators, or political brokers). The evaluation of each behavior according to its assumed usefulness or importance made possible to establish that some people act in the political arena in conformity with their values, principles or due to affective commitment (demonstration, escraches, party affiliation and even to vote). In general, the proposed measure of PP contributes to a specific evaluation of the political efficiency attributed to each behavior according to the type of aim that people want to reach.