Grassroots energy: a case study of active citizenship and public communication in risk society

In 2001, the Victorian state government approved the construction of a 500-megawatt power station at Stonehaven by US multinational corporation, AES Power One. In 2002 plans had stalled and the company had withdrawn from the process. By March, 2002 the state government flagged that the power station was no longer required to meet power supply demands. This paper applies Beck’s theories of risk society and reflexive modernisation to a case study. It asks to what extent is Australia a risk society? Is the Stonehaven case part of a larger-scale cultural and political movement and if so what are the consequences for corporate and civil citizenship and public communication in Australia?

Aspects of comparative active citizenship

This paper reports results from surveys of community organisation members, workers and volunteers designed to measure aspects of active citizenship in four locations: Ballarat (Australia); Norwich and Downham Market (England), and Mitischi (Russia). These data are drawn from an ongoing comparative study that will include six countries in the final analysis. The aggregated data considered here lend support to propositions that tolerance is positively associated with both civic participation and trust but do not show evidence for association between civic participation and trust. However, the existence of considerable locality level variation underlines the importance of taking context into account when assessing the role and nature of civic participation. Across the four locations, two broad patterns of (relative) active citizenship are described by means of a typology of active citizens. Predictors of tolerance and civic participation are identified through standard multiple regressions. It is concluded that future research needs to uncover the explanatory factors that lie behind these representations and which could further specify not just the similarities but also the differences between the locations.

Longitudinal surveys of Australian youth : active citizenship and the secondary school experience : community participation rates of Australian youth

LSAY is a research program that follows young Australians as they move through secondary school, into further education or training, and into the labour market and adult life. This website provides access to the electronic full text versions of LSAY research reports, from 1996 to present.

Voluntary activity and local government : managing volunteers or facilitating active citizenship?

This article discusses the role of voluntary activity in the local government of Australia. Two approaches to facilitating volunteer participation in local government are presented. The authors encourage administrators to frame voluntary activity in support of local government as an example of active citizenship. This approach to volunteering is framed as part of an effort to develop social capital and foster sustainable communities. The application of this approach in the Australian state of Victoria is described.

Guest editors' introduction: active citizenship and social accountability

By active citizenship, we [Oxfam] mean that combination of rights and obligations that link individuals to the state, including paying taxes, obeying laws, and exercising the full range of political, civil, and social rights. Active citizens use those rights to improve the quality of political or civic life, through involvement in the formal economy or formal politics, or through the sort of collective action that historically has allowed poor and excluded groups to make their voices heard. [… .]

At an individual level, active citizenship means developing self-confidence and overcoming the insidious way in which the condition of being relatively powerless can become internalised. In relation to other people, it means developing the ability to negotiate and influence decisions. And when empowered individuals work together, it means involvement in collective action, be it at the neighbourhood level, or more broadly. Ultimately, active citizenship means engaging with the political system to build an effective state, and assuming some degree of responsibility for the public domain. (Green 2008: 12, 19)

Active citizenship : an empirical investigation

This paper reports on a study of what active citizenship means from the perspective of citizens who are active within third sector organisations. It is based on an empirical study involving 1,610 respondents across 11 towns in six countries. The study explored how active citizenship is manifested, by gathering data on attitudes towards social changes and the forms and practices of active citizenship. There are two major, and apparently contradictory themes emerging in the data. The first theme provides a portrait of active engagement, proactively, and sometimes oppositionally working for a better world. On the other hand, citizens by and large avoid active oppositional engagement in the political process. They prefer to work collaboratively with government and to work at the local level. This second theme can be understood as social maintenance, support for existing structures that facilitates community cohesion, while providing relief for the disadvantaged, oftenwith a conservative charity orwelfare orientation. Following thework of Touraine, the study revealed how citizens act at the local rather than the national level, and focus on concrete issues and interpersonal relations rather than political action aimed at wider policy change. While this form of citizenship action can reflect a conservative form of maintenance, it is equally a creative new form of association and mutual support.

Muslim active citizenship in the West

Muslim Active Citizenship in the West investigates the emergence and nature of Muslims’ struggle for recognition as full members of society in Australia, Great Britain and Germany. What actions have been taken by Muslims to achieve equal civic standing? How do socio-political and socio-economic factors impact on these processes? And how do Muslims negotiate their place in a society that is often regarded as sceptical – if not hostile – towards Muslims’ desire to belong? This book sheds new light on Muslims’ path towards citizenship in Australia, Great Britain and Germany. Existing research and statistics on Muslims’ socio-economic status, community formation, claim-making and political responses, and the public portrayal of Islam are systematically examined. These insights are tested ‘through the eyes of Muslims’, based on in-depth interviews with Muslim community leaders and other experts in all three countries. The findings offer unique perspectives on Muslim resilience to be recognised as equal citizens of Islamic faith in very different socio-political national settings. Pursuing an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, this book examines the country-specific interplay of historical, institutional, political, and identity dimensions of Muslims’ active citizenship and will be invaluable for students and researchers with an interest in Sociology, Religious Studies and Political Science.

Muslim active citizenship in Australia: socioeconomic challenges and the emergence of a Muslim elite

The most recent national Census demonstrated that Australian Muslims continue to occupy a socioeconomically disadvantaged position. On key indicators of unemployment rate, income, type of occupation and home ownership, Muslims consistently under-perform the national average. This pattern is evident in the last three Census data (2001, 2006 and 2011). Limited access to resources and a sense of marginalisation challenge full engagement with society and the natural growth of emotional affiliation with Australia. Muslim active citizenship is hampered by socioeconomic barriers. At the same time, an increasingly proactive class of educated Muslim elite has emerged to claim a voice for Muslims in Australia and promote citizenship rights and responsibilities.

Practices of active citizenship among migrant youth: beyond conventionalities

© 2015 Taylor & Francis This paper discusses the empirical manifestations of the notion of active citizenship in the context of the experiences of migrant youth. It focuses on the practices of active citizenship through involvement in social networks and creative civic engagement. In doing so, the article examines the complex and multi-faceted nature of social networking among migrant youth and the extent to which their approach to engagement is dependent on the specificities of the local environment, the type of social issues involved, and the cultural norms of one's own cultural heritage. Key empirical insights are derived from quantitative and qualitative research conducted among migrant youth of African, Arabic-speaking and Pacific Island backgrounds in Australia. These empirical insights are used to examine the changing perceptions of active citizenship among migrant youth, and the possibilities offered through non-traditional networks to engender civic engagement and social participation.