Civic engagement reimagined: The roles of citizenship, civicness, and civility

Citizens engage in activities in multiple ways, including volunteering, political participation, activism, community support, and everyday acts of solidarity. These forms of engagement are essential for sustaining democracy and fostering inclusive, liveable communities. While much is known about the amount and different forms of civic engagement. We miss an understanding of the underlying structures that enable or constrain it–such as the role of institutions, the conditions under which engagement takes place, and the broader implications for citizens. This article argues for a more comprehensive understanding of civic engagement by examining its core dimensions: citizenship, civicness, and civility. By analyzing these three concepts separately and in combination, we can explain the varied forms of civic engagement and provide a normative framework for assessing its inclusive and exclusive mechanisms as well as the extent to which it enables parity of participation. The article offers a new approach to studying civic engagement, one that accounts for the social, institutional and normative conditions that shape participation and determine whether all citizens have opportunities to engage on equal terms.