Uczestnictwo wyborcze a postawy wobec systemu politycznego (na przykładzie elektoratu wrocławskiego)
Electoral participation and attitudes toward the political system

Summary/Abstract: The article concerns the relation between electoral participation and attitudes toward the political system. The main thesis postulates that the relationship between these variables is not a simple one. The text refers to the debate on the factors which influence the extent of electoral participation and in particular, electoral turnout in Poland. Attitudes were defined following M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen's approach, the model of the political system was taken from D. Easton, while the concept of participation was borrowed from S. Yerba and N. Nie. The research hypotheses were verified on the basis of empirical material collected by means of 500 direct interviews carried out with the inhabitants of the city of Wrocław. Analysis of the material makes it possible to reject a hypothesis that electoral participation is unrelated to the attitudes held by the inhabitants of the City of Wrocław toward the political community and the political regime. A relation between electoral participation and attitudes toward those in power turned out to be problematic. As a result, the author suggests that four categories of citizens may be identified when the appraisal of the political system and their electoral passivity or participation are cross-referenced.

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