Citizen Action

Considerable research in the field of local governance has focused on how levels of public participation can influence perceptions about the fairness and justice of decisions by municipalities. Common occasions where such dynamics are on display in communities across America are town or city meetings at budgeting time.

During the 1960s and 1970s, protest was central to American political discourse — against the Vietnam War, for the environment and women’s rights, against the abuse of political power. The Reagan years added social issues to the range of contentious subjects, but large-scale protest fell out of favor in the 1990s.

As the Internet plays a larger role in governance, campaigns and activism, the debate continues about how social and digital media are changing politics. Ongoing research is addressing topics such as whether or not the Internet is leading to increased political polarization — the tendency of like-minded individuals to cluster even closer together in their habits and viewpoints.