Social capital researchers have suggested that bridging ties are important for political participation. However, thus far the literature lacks testing on the direction of this relationship: do diverse ties stimulate political participation or does political participation stimulate political diversity among friends and acquaintances? This article examines how ethno-cultural and political diversity within social networks influence political participation among a unique panel of 4,235 young people in Belgium. The results reveal a reciprocal cross-lagged effect. In particular, having politically diverse social networks increases political participation, which in turn promotes meeting politically diverse others.
AlesinaAlbertoFerraraEliana La. “Participation in Heterogeneous Communities.” Quarterly Journal of Economics115 (2000): 847-904.
2.
AndersonChristopher J.PaskeviciuteAida. “How Ethnic and Linguistic Heterogeneity Influence the Prospects for Civil Society: A Comparative Study of Citizenship Behavior.” Journal of Politics68 (2006): 783-802.
3.
BarabasJason. “How Deliberation Affects Policy Opinions.” American Political Science Review98 (2004): 687-701.
4.
BeckPaul AllenJenningsM. Kent. “Pathways to Participation.” American Political Science Review76 (1984): 94-108.
5.
BerelsonBernard N.LazarsfeldPaul F.MacPheeWilliam N.Voting: A Study of Opinion Formation in a Presidential Campaign. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963.
6.
BerryJeffreyPortneyKentThomsonKen. The Rebirth of Urban Democracy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1993.
7.
BurkholderGary J.HarlowLisa L. “An Illustration of a Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Design for Larger Structural Equation Models.” Structural Equation Modeling10 (2003): 465-86.
8.
BurtRonald S. “The Contingent Value of Social Capital.” Administrative Quarterly42 (1997): 339-65.
9.
CampbellDavid E. “Sticking Together: Classroom Diversity and Civic Education.” American Politics Research35 (2007): 57-78.
10.
CiglerAllanJoslynMark R. “The Extensiveness of Group Membership and Social Capital: The Impact on Political Tolerance Attitudes.” Political Research Quarterly55 (2002): 7-25.
11.
ColemanJames. S. “Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital.” American Journal of Sociology94 (1988): 95-120.
12.
CostaDora L.KahnMatthew E. “Civic Engagement and Community Heterogeneity: An Economist’s Perspective.” Perspectives on Politics1 (2003): 103-11.
13.
DaltonRussell J.The Good Citizen. How a Younger Generation Is Reshaping American Politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2007.
14.
DawsonRobert E.PrewittKaren S.Political Socialization: An Analytic Study. Boston, MA: Little Brown, 1969.
15.
Delli CarpiniMichaelKeeterScott. What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996.
16.
EliasophNina.Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
17.
EvelandWilliam P.Jr.HivelyMyiah Hutchens. “Political Discussion Frequency, Network Size, and Heterogeneity of Discussion as Predictors of Political Knowledge and Participation.” Journal of Communication59 (2009): 205-24.
18.
EvelandW. P.ScheufeleD. A. “Connecting News Media Use with Gaps in Knowledge and Participation.” Political Communication17 (2000): 215-37.
19.
FinkelSteven E. “Reciprocal Effects of Participation and Political Efficacy: A Panel Analysis.” American Journal of Political Science29 (1985): 891-913.
20.
GalstonWilliam A. “Civic Education and Political Participation.” PSOnline37 (2004): 263-66.
21.
GerberAlan S.GreenDonald P.ShacharRon. “Voting May Be Habit Forming: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment.”American Journal of Political Science47 (2003): 540-50.
22.
GranovetterMark. “The Strength of Weak Ties.” American Journal of Sociology78 (1973): 1360-380.
23.
HancockGregory R.MuellerRalph O.Structural Equation Modeling. A Second Course. Greenwich, UK: Information Age Publishing, 2006.
24.
HarellAllisonStolleDietlindQuintelierEllen. 2011. “Experiencing Political Diversity: The Mobilizing Effect of Disagreement among Youth.” Unpublished manuscript.
25.
HillKim QuailLeighleyJan E. “Racial Diversity, Voter Turnout, and Mobilizing Institutions in the United States.” American Politics Research27 (1999): 275-95.
26.
HoogheMarc. “Value Congruence and Convergence within Voluntary Associations: Ethnocentrism in Belgian Organizations.” Political Behavior25 (2003): 151-75.
27.
HuckfeldtRobert. “Political Participation and the Neighborhood Social Context.” American Journal of Political Science23 (1979): 579-92.
28.
HuckfeldtRobertJohnsonP. E.SpragueJohn D.Political Disagreement: The Survival of Diverse Opinions within Communication Networks, Cambridge Studies in Public Opinion and Political Psychology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
29.
HuckfeldtRobertMendezJ. M.OsbornTracy. “Disagreement, Ambivalence, and Engagement: The Political Consequences of Heterogeneous Networks.” Political Psychology25 (2004): 65-95.
30.
JangSeung-Jin. “Are Diverse Political Networks Always Bad for Participatory Democracy? Indifference, Alienation, and Political Disagreement.” American Politics Research37 (2009): 879-98.
31.
JenningsM. KentNiemiRichard G. “Continuity and Change in Political Orientations: A Longitudinal Study of Two Generations.” American Political Science Review69 (1975): 1316-335.
32.
JoynerKara. “School Racial Composition and Adolescent Racial Homophily.” Social Science Quarterly81 (2000): 810-25.
33.
KennyChristopher. “Political Participation and Effects from the Social Environment.” American Journal of Political Science36 (1992): 259-67.
34.
KlofstadCasey.The Art of Associating: The Central Role of Peers in Civic Life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2005.
35.
KnokeDavid. “Networks of Political Action: Toward Theory Construction.” Social Forces68 (1990): 1041-063.
36.
KwakNojinWilliamsAnn E.WangXiaoruLeeHoon. “Talking Politics and Engaging Politics: An Examination of the Interactive Relationships between Structural Features of Political Talk and Discussion Engagement.” Communication Research32 (2005): 87-111.
37.
LakeRonald La DueHuckfeldtRobert. “Social Networks, Social Capital, and Political Participation.” Political Psychology19 (1998): 567-84.
38.
LaneRobert E.Political Life: Why and How People Get Involved in Politics. Glencoe, IL: Free Press, 1959.
39.
LangtonK. P.Political Socialization. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.
40.
LeighleyJan. “Social Interaction and Contextual Influences on Political Participation.” American Politics Research18 (1990): 459-75.
41.
LinNanCookKaren S.BurtRonald S.Social Capital: Theory and Research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 2001.
42.
MarschallMelissaStolleDietlind. “Race and the City: Context and the Development of Generalized Trust.” Political Behavior26 (2004): 125-53.
43.
McClurgScott. “Social Networks and Political Participation: The Role of Social Interaction in Explaining Political Participation.” Political Research Quarterly56 (2003): 449-64.
44.
McClurgScott. “The Electoral Relevance of Political Talk: Examining Disagreement and Expertise Effects in Social Networks on Political Participation.” American Journal of Political Science50 (2006a): 737-54.
45.
McClurgScott. “Political Disagreement in Context: The Conditional Effect of Neighborhood Context, Disagreement and Political Talk on Electoral Participation.” Political Behavior28 (2006b): 349-66.
46.
McKenzieBrian. “Reconsidering the Effects of Bonding Social Capital: A Closer Look at Black Civil Society Institutions in America.” Political Behavior30 (2008): 25-45.
47.
McLeodJack M.ScheufeleDietram A.MoyPatriciaHorowitzEdward M.HolbertR. LanceZhangWeiwuZubricStephenZubricJessica. “Understanding Deliberation: The Effects of Discussion Networks on Participation in a Public Forum.” Communication Research26 (1999): 743-74.
MutzDiana. “The Consequences of Cross-Cutting Networks for Political Participation.” American Journal of Political Science46 (2002a): 838-55.
50.
MutzDiana. “Cross-Cutting Social Networks: Testing Democratic Theory in Practice.” American Political Science Review96 (2002b): 111-26.
51.
MutzDiana.Hearing the Other Side: Deliberative versus Participatory Democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
52.
MutzDianaMondakJeffrey. “The Workplace as a Context for Cross-Cutting Political Discourse.” Journal of Politics68 (2006): 140-55.
53.
OliverJ. Eric. “The Effects of Metropolitan Economic Segregation on Local Civic Participation.” American Journal of Political Science43 (1999): 186-212.
54.
PattieCharles J.JohnstonRon J. “Conversation, Disagreement and Political Participation.” Political Behavior31 (2009): 261-85.
55.
PlutzerEric. “Becoming a Habitual Voter: Inertia, Resources, and Growth in Young Adulthood.” American Political Science Review96 (2002): 41-56.
56.
PriceVincentCappellaJosephNirLIlach. “Does Disagreement Contribute to More Deliberative Opinion.” Political Communication19 (2002): 95-112.
57.
PutnamRobert D.Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.
58.
PutnamRobert D.Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2000.
59.
PutnamRobert D. “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-First Century. The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture.”Scandinavian Political Studies30 (2007): 137-74.
60.
QuintelierEllen. “The Political Participation of Immigrant Youth in Belgium.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies35 (2009): 919-37.
61.
RosenstoneSteven J.HansenJohn Mark. Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. New York: Longman, 2003.
62.
ScheufeleDietram A.HardyBruce W.BrossardDominiqueWaismel-ManorIsrael S.NisbetErik. “Democracy Based on Difference: Examining the Links between Structural Heterogeneity of Discussion Networks, and Democratic Citizenship.” Journal of Communication56 (2006): 728-53.
63.
ScheufeleDietramNisbetMatthewBrossardDominiqueNisbetErik. “Social Structure and Citizenship: Examining the Impact of Social Setting, Network Heterogeneity, and Informational Variables on Political Participation.” Scandinavian Political Studies26 (2004): 49-66.
64.
SchlueterElmarDavidovEldadSchmidtPeter. “Applying Autoregressive Cross-Lagged and Latent Growth Curve Models to a Three-Wave Panel Study.” In Longitudinal Models in the Behavioral and Related Sciences, edited by van MontfortKeesOudJohanSatorraAlbert, 315-37. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2007.
65.
SchulzWolframAinleyJohnFraillonJullianKerrDavidLositoBruno. 2010. Initial Findings from the IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement.
66.
SeligsenAmber. “Civic Association and Democratic Participation in Central America.” Comparative Political Studies32 (1999): 342-62.
67.
StokerLauraJenningsM. Kent. “Life-Cycle Transitions and Political Participation: The Case of Marriage.” American Political Science Review89 (1995): 421-33.
68.
StolleDietlind. “Clubs and Congregations: The Benefits of Joining and Association.” In Trust in Society, edited by CookK. S., 202-24. New York: Russell Sage Foundation Series on Trust, 2001a.
69.
StolleDietlind.“Getting to Trust: An Analysis of the Importance of Institutions, Families. Personal Experiences and Group Membership.” In Politics in Everyday Life: Social Capital and Participation, edited by DekkerP.UslanerE. M., 105-19. London: Routledge, 2001b.
70.
StolleDietlindHarellAllisonMahéoValérie-Anne. Dataset of the McGill Youth Survey 2006. Montreal: McGill University, 2006.
71.
TeorellJan. “Linking Social Capital to Political Participation: Voluntary Associations and Networks of Recruitment in Sweden.” Scandinavian Political Studies26 (2003): 49-66.
72.
UlbigStacyFunkCarolyn. “Conflict Avoidance and Political Participation.” Political Behavior21 (1999): 265-82.
73.
UslanerEric.The Moral Foundations of Trust. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
74.
VerbaSidneySchlozmanKay L.BradyHenry E.Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995.
