Welcome!
How do public policies and political institutions influence patterns of civic engagement and the capacities of citizens to act in politics and civic life? How successfully does political science help us understand the ways in which policy choices and the design of institutions either encourage or discourage desirable forms of citizen activity and the political capacities of the people?
Over the past two years, the Standing Committee has attempted to explore and articulate a political science of citizenship. Our aim was to understand what might be done constructively to foster civic capacity. The Committee sought to cull insights from the best available political science in order to describe the sources of our problems and possible constructive interventions. We acknowledge the limits of current evidence and highlight areas where additional research is needed. Our audience includes everyone interested in democracy: citizens, public officials, journalists, policy makers, and our fellow social scientists.
A review draft of our report has
now been completed, and we will present an overview at the upcoming
annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in Chicago.
Your comments, responses and insights are needed! We hope visitors to
this website will take time to read our final
draft for review and respond to us with your comments
and suggestions.
Next Committee Event
Friday, Sept. 3, 2004, 10:15am-
"Democracy at Risk: Renewing the Political Science
of Citizenship"
Roundtable at 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, IL -- Marquette Room
Committee Chair: Stephen Macedo, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics and the University Center for Human Values; Director of the University Center for Human Values; Director of the Program in Ethics and Public Affairs