Vindicating Engaged Citizenship and Participatory Democracy

Master's Thesis from the year 2015 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the 20th century, grade: 1,3 (17/20 in lux. Notensystem), University of Luxembourg (Institut für Philosophie), language: English, abstract: Civic participation and democracy are widely discussed issues. However, motivations for a citizen to actually participate are rarely presented. The present thesis will defend the notion of engaged citizenship as an attitude of habitual interest and care in relation to an individual's political community. It is to follow public concerns and discourse with an active mind and actual action if seen necessary. Further, the desirability of engaged citizenship in a democratic context will be vindicated, and its necessity for a participatory deliberative democratic system will be explicated.

Moreover, it will be argued that engaged citizenship and participatory democracy mutually condition each other. In this context, the thesis aims to provide incentives for the individual citizen to engage with his or her political community and social as well as natural environment. Guided by a Wittgensteinian and Habermasian framework, the democratic state is interpreted not only as a form of governance, but also as a reciprocal mode of political life that stays in need to be supported by an engaged citizenry. In order to put these aims into practise, the work public schools as well as private forms of civic engagement play a vital role.