Pagina

Political Voice: the freedom and opportunity to articulate political demands, struggles and perspectives in participation

Political voice encompasses the freedom and opportunity to articulate oneself politically through participation (Mkwananzi et al 2021). It includes self-expression – being able to express emotions, perspectives and experiences – and self-efficacy – belief in your own ability to make a meaningful democratic contribution (Bandura 1977). But political voice is more than these components; it is the ability to articulate political demands. Political voice is an integral democratic capability for collectives as well as individuals, given the importance of collective articulations of identity and emancipation for some marginalised groups (Deveaux 2021; Ibrahim 2006). It is widely known in public participation, and our key informant interviews also reflected, that those with greater resources and more favourable conditions – such as highly educated, older White men – have a greater sense of self-efficacy and are more likely to participate and dominate, compared to those with fewer resources and advantages.

Downstream Enablers of Political Voice in INSPIRE

• Creative and arts-based methods of participation support the development of political voice through creative avenues for self-expression and self-efficacy (Bussu 2025).

• Collaboration with relevant community organisations can support the participation of people from backgrounds who might not typically consider their voice to be important. Some key informants told us that partnering with groups from migrant communities, for example, supported participation from those communities.

• Providing relevant and accessible information is foundational for inclusive participation. In Bulgaria and Poland, accessible information provision played a particularly important role in enhancing participants’ agency beyond the pilot process.