the policy of withholding one's vote or refusing to participate in some other aspect of the political process
abstentionism in American English
(æbˈstenʃəˌnɪzəm)
noun
the refusal of a government to participate in international relations or alliances that it regards as detrimental to its interests
Derived forms
abstentionist
noun or adjective
Word origin
[abstention + -ism]-ism is a suffix appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it was used to form action nounsfrom verbs (baptism). On this model, -ism is used as a productive suffix in the formation of nouns denoting action or practice,state or condition, principles, doctrines, a usage or characteristic, devotion oradherence, etc. (criticism; barbarism; Darwinism; despotism; plagiarism; realism; witticism; intellectualism)