Why Are People So Apathetic In The Face Of Severe Provocation?

0695147

MA Politics

Word Count: 8,727 Abstract

This dissertation addresses the question of why people are apathetic in the face of severe provocation. It focuses on a single case study, the construction of a tram line in Edinburgh, and on the fundamental disconnect between Edinburgh citizens and their local governors which sustains circumstances of private grievances remaining unexpressed in public. Provocation is constituted by the actions of The City of Edinburgh Council, its subsidiary organizations and the contractors involved in the project leading to significant delays, cost overruns and environmental problems. Primary survey research confirms that there are many possible explanations for why people prefer to act privately or not at all rather than publicly, even in the face of provocation. These explanations are not competing but instead mutually reinforce each other.

Introduction

Substantial grievances held by members of the public in private often fail to manifest through expression within public forums or through public action. Volumes of work connecting psychology, behavioural economics and political science (amongst other disciplines), which embody a wealth of arguments that have been applied previously and could be applied to such an investigation. Effective use of the considerable breadth of literature is regrettably beyond the scope of this dissertation. As a result a chosen number of relevant arguments from existing literature have been applied to inform primary research focused upon a single case study: the construction of the Edinburgh Tram Network (ETN) and the attitudes and reactions provoked by unforeseen delays and developments associated with the project. Do citizens have legitimate grounds for action in this case, and if so, why have so few individuals pursued public means of political activity?

In Chapter I arguments selected from the literature are outlined which form a theoretical foundation on which the investigation is built. Brief explanations are offered for the different expectations these selections generated for this study. It will be argued that the project constitutes political provocation. Provocation in this case is defined as actions that are democratically negligent or politically irresponsible. The events and progress of this investigation are summarised. In Chapter 2 provocation is demonstrated by the weight of supporting evidence that the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) committed public funding to an infrastructure project that faced initial public opposition and that has not and will not achieve its stated objectives. Evidence and analysis are structured around a timeline of significant events from the projects inception to its current state. Chapter 2 includes extracts from a personal interview conducted with Lesley Hinds, an elected member of CEC and current Convener of the Transport, Infrastructure and Environment Committee. Chapter 3 presents the methods, materials and results of primary survey research with integrated discussion and analysis. Two surveys were designed and conducted over a 4-month period to investigate changing public attitudes and reactions to the project. The conclusions drawn on the basis of this research are limited due to a restricted sample size and attendant methodological problems. With more time and resources further research might prove more fruitful.

Results drawn from the research are that well documented theoretical concerns over the limited effectiveness of public action may be significant in accounting for why private grievances remain unexpressed in this case. Such concerns are mutually reinforced by low levels of awareness of which groups are responsible for provocation. Issues regarding how and where the public might act are also relevant. Chapter 4 presents in-case comparative analysis focusing on the actions of the Moray Feu Residents Association (MFRA), a group who successfully pursued legal action against CEC. The dissertation concludes in Chapter 5 that the theoretically documented gap between citizens and their elected representatives constitutes a considerable barrier to communication and participation. Whether the barricade can be brought down in future is a quest thirsting for further research and investigation. Both sides have responsibilities. For governments, more frequent consultation of and provision of information to the general public would be a good place to start. A more cautious approach to the use of public funds would also be fitting. If this is partnered by willingness on behalf of citizens to be more active publicly, through projection of opinions in place of expectation that government seek them out, and privately, in solidarity with the problems government faces instead of opposition, we may step together in the direction of progress, avoiding as best we can situations of unexpressed grievance or loss of public trust. Chapter 1

The theoretical base of my arguments is formed selectively from prominent works of political analysis including but not limited to the writings of Robert Dahl, C. Wright-Mills, and Cass Sunstein.

Wright-Mills`s major work `The Power Elite` was first published in 1956. It remains helpful in understanding the dynamics of the relationship between government and citizens though it would not be controversial to suggest his analyses of the power elite in American society have not aged consistently well. This critique might harness more recent scholarship that focuses on the broad impacts demographic and technological changes have had over the past 40 years . Moreover the removal of his arguments from their unifying context (America`s military industrial complex) confirms minimal general applicability. Mills acknowledged this himself. `Our definition of the power elite cannot properly contain dogma concerning the degree and kind of power that ruling groups everywhere have` .

Nevertheless some of his arguments remain useful. He describes citizens in modern society as `driven by forces they can neither understand nor govern` which `confine them to projects not their own... in an epoch in which they are without power` . Mills highlighted an essential problems of representative democracy: the disconnect between citizens and governors that has received considerable attention in political scholarship and across a broad range of literature. Mills observed a `great gap now existing between the underlying population and those who make decisions in its name... culminating in decisions of consequence which the public often does not even know are being made until well after the fact`. Over the course of research for this dissertation it became clearer that at certain key points, the citizens of Edinburgh had been occluded from the process of decision making that led to the initiation of the tram project. By contrast, at other points citizens were consulted. Opinions were accepted relative to their positive alignment with the intentions of CEC to build a tram. Expression of opposition was disregarded. Furthermore, advice received from expert consultations into the environmental consequences of building the tram was disregarded. It is suggested that the tram project is both democratically negligent and politically irresponsible on a foundational level, and therefore legitimate grounds on which the public might take action. In Chapter 2 it will be demonstrated ETN constitutes provocation for these reasons, among others.

Mills concludes that the `great gap` was widely perceived to be insurmountable, demonstrated by public `withdrawal entirely from... action into a materially comfortable and entirely private life`. Rather than accepting his conclusion it is suggested that a possible explanation for the lack of public action might be low levels of awareness of these provocations / potential spurs to action. If the public were made aware of a particularly provocative fact, could this change their behaviour? Initial survey work was carried out to investigate this possibility. In Chapter 3 results of the investigation that tested the awareness hypothesis are presented first. These results suggested the initial hypothesis was too narrow in scope, signalling that the puzzle of demonstrably low levels of public action in the face of provocation constituted by ETN could not be explained by low levels of awareness alone. A return to the literature and to the works of Robert Dahl proved a helpful bridge.

Dahl`s comments on the inherent deficiencies of representative government echo Mills`s. Dahl identifies a similar `gap between democratic ideals and democratic realities` . The extracts presented in this dissertation represent a small portion of his analysis of political behaviour presented in the book `Who Governs?` and based on empirical study of American citizens in New Haven, Connecticut first published in 1961 . Dahl suggested that one way of bridging this gap is through political participation, stressing the likelihood and willingness of citizen`s participation is strongly affected by `estimates as to the probability of succeeding in an attempt to influence decisions` . This is backed up by the results of his research and the conclusion reached is therefore valid . `A person who is pessimistic about his chances of influencing government policies is less likely to undertake political action . Another important conclusion Dahl draws is that `individuals vary in their information about the political system - how it operates... what the outcomes are likely to be` and this too affects the likelihood of citizen`s taking public action . Both arguments were applied as part of primary survey research investigations. Issues of information were considered to include public awareness of where to act, how to act, and distribution of responsibility amongst the various groups associated with ETN.

Dahl`s arguments seemed convincing, leading to hopes that the theoretical puzzle being grappled with could be solved by researching public attitudes regarding the perceived effectiveness of political action and the importance of information distribution. Limited numbers, attendant methodological problems and sampling issues preclude firm conclusions being drawn from the data collected. What can be drawn from primary research is that factors affecting citizen`s willingness, likelihood and facility to participate in politics are numerous, too numerous to evaluate effectively over the course of one dissertation. Further research is warranted.

The concluding passages reiterate that the explanations behind minimal demonstrable public action in the case of ETN are varied and complex. It is not the task of this dissertation to identify one explanation as prominent amongst them all. Instead, it is suggested that the explanations are mutually reinforcing and not competing. The broader implications of this conclusion are that further work will be necessary to evaluate the relationship between private actions in response to public issues. Specifically in the case of ETN, the upcoming public enquiry into the project is anticipated. There are many ways in which the project has failed to meet its objectives. It remains incomplete as of 2013, 5 years later than the project`s first operational deadline. What is expected to be delivered by the summer of 2014 is a fragment of the scope of the of the original project, magnified in costs and reduced in service range. The public certainly have grounds for action in this case. Why they have not acted may be the result of cost-benefit calculations, the influence of norms, unfavourable conditions in which to act or other explanations that have yet to be considered. Investigating this case has led to a realization that drawing broader theoretical conclusions of which factors affect the decisions behind whether and how to act are beyond the scope of this dissertation but may well be within the scope of further research and investigation.

Further available on request.