Political citizenship beyond election day

For most citizens, the most visible political act is the vote. It matters a great deal. But between one election and the next, decisions are made every day: ordinances, budgets, appointments, contracts. Most of them are made without any citizen in the room.

Poliarchism calls the continuing role of the citizen political citizenship. It is not a call to be angry more often, or to join a party. It is a call to know how public decisions are made and to use the lawful means available to take part in them.

What it asks of a citizen

• Know who decides what: the barangay, the city or municipality, the province, Congress, the agencies.
• Follow a decision from proposal to effect, at least once.
• Use the channels that exist: public hearings, consultations, petitions, letters that ask for a written answer.
• Teach it: in a family, a classroom, a parish, an organisation.

What it asks of institutions

Citizenship is half of the equation. Institutions must also be built to receive participation: notices that reach people in time, records that are public, and answers that are given. That is where political citizenship meets the rest of the framework.