10. Political Participation

Participation in politics is not just restricted to voting in elections. Joining a party, donating money to a cause, organizing petitions, engaging in strikes or riots – all of these, and more, are forms of political participation. Participating in politics is almost always part of a planned, organized strategy, with different levels of risk.

Legal participation includes voting, lobbying, campaigning for a party or cause, and trade union activity such as strikes. This level of action is low-risk as it is permitted and often encouraged by political organizations and the state. The players in Hegemony do this in each round.

Tolerated participation is a political activity that is neither legal nor illegal, such as boycotts. This level of action is medium-risk, as it is not prohibited by the state, but equally the state will not provide help for activists if their actions end up harming them economically. Players in Hegemony can choose to participate in this way, such as refusing to buy products from the capitalist class or by initiating strikes.

Illegal participation is high-risk political activity in open defiance of the state, including government corruption, destruction of property, rioting, terrorism, and revolution. As the state in Hegemony is an enlightened liberal democracy with free elections, the population has faith in the political system. But be careful how you play the game – if political tensions become too high, certain classes might drastically push for their ideology.