Geography and political participation

This chapter examines the various ways in which the concerns of academic geography help illuminate understandings of political participation. Features of the physical environment, from weather conditions to the distance potential participants may have to travel to take part in political action have some effect on participation. But the major geographical affects reflect the compositional make-up of the communities in which political action takes place, and wider contextual influences related to local climates of opinion peer pressure and mobilization in place. While compositional effects reflect who lives where (and the extent to which the individuals in each place are themselves inclined to participate, contextual effects involve individuals reaction to the real and perceived actions, beliefs and norms of others in their community regarding political action.