Supporting Effective Citizenship in Local Government

Engaging, Educating and Empowering Local Citizens

Bibliographic Data

ID7914076
AuthorsRhys Andrews (0000-0003-1904-9819, Cardiff University), Richard Cowell (0000-0002-1639-8004, Cardiff University), James Downe (0000-0003-0772-3183, Cardiff University), Steve Martins (0000-0002-1883-5837, Cardiff University), David A Turner (0000-0002-3447-7662, University of Gloucestershire), David Turner (0000-0002-0789-3601)
Year2008
Volume34
Issue4
Pages489-507
Publication date2008-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueLocal Government Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0300-3930 • E-ISSN: 1743-9388
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03003930802217462
OpenAlexW2095013024
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited32

Civic-republican theories suggest that an active citizenry is associated with community cohesion, better political institutions and inclusive democratic decision making. The influence of these arguments on the UK Labour government has led policy makers to focus attention on strategies to promote citizenship at a local level. In particular, English local authorities are expected to provide ‘support for citizenship’ as part of their wider duty to promote ‘effective community engagement’. The ways in which they can do this are various, ranging from the simple provision of information to direct support for community networks and groups. This article reports the findings of an extensive study of English councils' efforts to engage, educate and empower local citizens. The paper concludes that although local authorities have made significant progress in recent years in widening the structures for communicating with, and engaging citizens, there remains considerable scope for improving activities that address the learning implications of effective citizenship

Active citizenship · Citizenship · Cohesion (chemistry · Community cohesion · Democracy · Duty · Government (linguistics · Local community · Local government · Localism · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Scope (computer science · Sociology · Law · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Capital and Networks