THE DYNAMICS OF THE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN ROMANIA

Abstract

The civic engagement is an important element for the consolidation of democracy. This article aims at showing the dynamics of the civic engagement in Romania reflected in three series of data pertaining to the years 1995–1999, 2005–2009, and 2010–2014. Using data from World Values Survey, the article tries to measure the intensity and the development of the civic participation in Romania viewed on three dimensions: civic, electoral and political. The World Values Survey does not cover all the indicators, so we shall use for the study the indicators found in the survey which can best reflect the dimensions suggested. For the civic dimension, we shall use as indicators the membership in voluntary organisations − charitable organisations, churches or religious organisations, labour unions, professional associations, sport or recreation, and other voluntary organisations. For the electoral dimension, we follow the indicators: volunteering for political organizations (membership in political parties), and regular voting (parliamentary vote and national vote). For the political voice dimension, the indicators that suggest political actions are: protesting, attending peaceful demonstrations, sending written petitions (political action −signing a petition), boycotting (political actions − joining in boycotts and also joining strikes), and other acts of protest