Problem
Structural failure of citizen participation
Experimental visualization of narrower problems
Other Names:
Collapse of societal engagement Nature:
Many groups concerned with promoting local participation use methods of social change and internal decision-making which actually mediate against such participation. In the arena of the maintenance of social tranquility, many groups have emerged since World War II concerned with providing meaningful ways for citizens to participate locally and nationally. One after another, however, these movements and organizations dissolve, either overcome by the complexity of the problem or finding their energies drained in responding to one local issue after another. In some cases, such as IRA, KKK, such groups may become more repressive and threatening to social order than the forces they sought to ameliorate.
Narrower Problems:
Citizen incompetenceLimited cultural contextLack of social commitmentLaw enforcement complexityInaccessible decision makersLimited decision-making contextSocial disaffection of the youngOveremphasis on individual rightsReluctance to join in community actionUnformed pattern of cooperative actionStructural failure of opposition groupsLimited and fragmented outlook of civic minded groupsExclusion of opposing views Related Problems:
Resignation to problemsBlocked minority opinionParochial national interestsInadequate political networksMisuse of international forumsBreakdown of local community cohesionLack of systems for achieving grassroots agreementErosion of social dialogue Aggravates:
Refusal to participateGrievances of citizensDecline in civic participationUnderutilization of popular wisdomCollapse in the meaning of participating in societyIneffectiveness of individual participation in large communitiesRestrictive effects of tradition-bound community decision-making Strategies:
Reinventing citizenshipLobbyingMaintaining societal engagementMaintaining societal engagement Subject(s):
Government → CitizenshipIndustry → Construction
Social Activity → Participation
Societal Problems → Failure
Sociology → Sociology
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
F: Fuzzy exceptional problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST