Political+Efficacy

By: Ethan Lonardelli & Whitney Lorello

In discussions on political theories the term political efficacy almost always comes into play. Political efficacy is how much effect the citizens of a certain country think they have on their federal and local governments. When citizens think they have a low amount of impact on their government then they are known to have low political efficacy. When the public has good faith in their government and its abilities to listen to their citizens views and respond to them then they are said to have high political efficacy. Governments strive for higher political efficacies and determine these rates through public polls and surveys. This also determines the political climate of a country and helps the country determine what steps to take to help close the gap between government and regular citizens. Political efficacy can be broken down into two parts internal and external. Internal efficacy affects the citizen directly because it is the individual’s feelings on how much impact they have specifically due to their own personal knowledge and abilities. A person with a higher internal efficacy is more likely to vote because they think they have something to contribute to society and their voices are heard. External efficacy is the actual trust in local government, this can be increased by getting news about the government out there that will keep the people involved and make them feel like they are involved. Many politicians will try to increase these rates by involving the public more and making them feel more significant to win future elections and win more public support.



Vocab Political theories: an orientation that characterizes the nation Political efficacy: The amount of impact citizens think they have on their government. Low political efficacy: When citizens think they have little to no impact on their governments decisions High political efficacy: When citizens think they have a great impact on their government’s decisions Political climate: current majority mood and opinions of the public Internal efficacy: How much impact an individual thinks they have on their government through their own personal knowledge and abilities. External efficacy: the trust society has in the local governments.


 * [] a news article that relates to political efficacy. **
 * [] another news article that relates to political efficacy. **

**Review Questions:** **What is external political efficacy?**
 * What is political efficacy? **
 * When do citizens have a low political efficacy? **
 * How do governments see what their citizens political efficacy is? **
 * What is internal political efficacy? **

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