PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · Representation & Participation
Explain the reasons for low voter turnout in democratic countries with suitable examples.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
disillusionment / apathy (Putnam — falling social capital, EU Parliament polls) → institutional barriers (Piven & Cloward — registration, timing, voter-ID; low-income & minority hit) — voter fatigue (Franklin — Switzerland) — contentment (Inglehart — post-materialism, Japan) — crisis of legitimacy (Habermas — Occupy / Yellow Vests — far-right resentment, Tertmn /TaDan £Aictant nalitical placc
Body flow
Sa I EI ae aa a low turnout not always decay — contentment, not only disaffection or exclusion — some abstention signals enticfartinn unth the ctatii/c An
Counter-view
ee ee eee I eee eee ee ee eee cure lies in substance, not compulsion → Sen — democracy as a good in itself → electoral-funding reform, wider representation, civil society turnout a mixed signal — exclusion + disaffection outweigh contentment — reconnect citizens to institutions to revive the vote
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
