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Synonyms

Class consciousness; Political culture; Political identity

Definition

Political consciousness is one’s political state of mind. This state of mind is based on the personal awareness of politics, position in the political system and history, and actions one perceived as available to take in an effort to influence the political reality in which one operates. Political consciousness is closely related to the concepts of political identity, political participation, political culture, and the idea of social contract between the people and the government.

Political identity is the “perceived connection between an individual and a political community (a group that has political interests and goals) and among individuals of a political community. Nationalism is the dominant political identity of most people, but others such as religion, do exist as a primary political identity and are becoming more common” (Rourke, 2008). Furthermore, recently, transnational ideas have been providing...

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Correspondence to Anna M. Rulska-Kuthy .

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Rulska-Kuthy, A.M. (2014). Political Consciousness. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2193

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2193

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

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