Forces that Impact Political Participation 1.     What forces shape political participation? One force that shapes political participation is the government the people are under. How much the government cares about the rights of individuals changes how people will interact with the government. This is seen in democratic and authoritarian regimes. Another force that shapes political participation is the political socialization of the people. If they know more about how the government works and how they can get involved they are more likely to engage. If they have been indoctrinated, they are more likely to engage in the way the government wants. 2.     Explain how political participation affects and is affected by democratic or authoritarian regimes. Compare and contrast at least two democratic and two authoritarian regimes. In democratic regimes, people are able to participate formally through voting. They also have more liberty to participate informally through protests and community groups. The government protects the rights of the people to do these things in this state. In authoritarian regimes, political participation is more limited. People are often discouraged from doing any sort of actions that are contrary to the government. Citizens living under these regimes also have been taught a certain way about the government. One example of this in a democratic regime is in the UK where the people have the most freedom when it comes to political participation, they are allowed to vote and protest, and their protests can have real change. This contrasts with Russia, where all protests must be registered with the government before they can take place. In China, children are taught from a young age about what to believe about the nation and communism, while not allowing for other perspectives to be seen due to the Great Firewall. In Mexico, people more learn based on their own experiences, and family, religious, and cultural values. They, like the UK, have the power to protest freely, but there is an underlying fear of retribution from the drug cartels, which limits political participation.