Linkage Institutions
How citizens can participate in a democracy.
What is a linkage institution?
 A link between citizens and their government.
 A democratic society is based on the principle of
universalism.
 People are not subjects of government, but the sovereigns of
government.
 To have a voice in the way that our society operates we
need:
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to be informed
to communicate with those who make the laws
to make judgments about those who make the laws
to change our minds about who create the laws
VOTING & CAMPAIGNING in
Elections
 Participate in state, local and federal elections
by voting or campaigning for those running for
office.
 Run for an office
Join a POLITICAL PARTY
 Parties represent a large group of people with
common ideas and values.
 Collectively their ideas make up a platform of
several ideas they hope will influence public policy.
 They nominate and run candidates for office to
help advance their agendas.
 They fundraise
 Our main parties are the Democrats and
Republicans, but smaller Third Parties do
occasionally find success in federal elections.
Join an INTEREST GROUP
 Designed to help promote a certain point of view or
issue a group of citizens care about.
 They lobby or their members lobby lawmakers to
insure new laws support their agenda.
 Raise $$$ to support candidates who support them.
 You will often see groups supporting both sides (pro and
con) of an issue, like gun violence v. gun rights or prochoice v. anti-choice.
 Examples:
 NAACP-National Associate for the Advancement of
Colored Peoples
 NRA- National Riffle Association
 NEA- National Education Association
Information from MEDIA
 TV
 Newpapers
 Internet
 Radio
 Photo journalism
 Online news
 Social Media
 Blogs
 All provide citizens with various ways to consume
information.
 What is bias? How do you know if information is reliable?