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Citizen Politics and Democracy
Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Democracies
- Textbook
Citizen Politics and Democracy
Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Democracies
- Textbook
Available for purchase via Bloomsbury etextbooks on publication date
Description
Since its first edition in 1988, Citizen Politics has provided a concise examination of citizens' political behavior and politicians' responses in advanced industrial democracies.It communicates findings from state-of-the-art research on parties, public opinion, and voters in a way that is at once accessible and comprehensive.It argues that ordinary people do, in fact, have what it takes to meet the demands of their roles as citizens in representative democracies.
Informed by evidence from cross-national public opinion surveys, past editions of the book offered a tone of moderation-or perhaps guarded optimism-that leans against the more extreme, attention-grabbing approach of the 24-hour news cycle.The eighth edition will continue in this vein.The text will focus on opinion, voter choice, and political representation by comparing recent elections in the UK, France, Germany, and the United States. This four-nation comparison strikes the right balance between depth and breadth and does so in the space of 300 pages.The basic chapter structure will continue, with updated results from several new elections in each of the four core nations, new surveys, and new literature. This is essential to capture student and instructor interest.
This new edition will focus more on the contemporary challenges facing democracies and their citizens.The attack at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, brought to the fore how much democratic stability requires the consent of the governed and respect for established rules and norms by citizens and elites.This and other events have pushed researchers to revisit foundational questions about the role of the citizen in a democracy.One innovation is that the new edition will focus more on how citizens' participation, values, opinions, and assessments contribute to how democracy does (or does not) work. Thus, we will rebrand the eighth edition as Citizen Politics and Democracy, to emphasize both continuity and change in mass politics.
Table of Contents
Comparing Public Opinion across Nations
Choosing Nations to Compare
A New Style of Citizen Politics
Suggested Readings
Notes
PART I. POLITICS AND THE PUBLIC
CHAPTER 2. The Nature of Citizen Beliefs
The Supercitizen
Reality versus a Theoretical Ideal
Elitist Theory of Democracy
Political Sophistication Reconsidered
Politics and the Public
Suggested Readings
Notes
CHAPTER 3. How We Participate
Modes of Participation
Voting
Campaign Activity
Direct Contacting
Communal Activity
Protest and Contentious Action
Wired Activism
Changing Publics and Political Participation
Suggested Readings
Notes
CHAPTER 4. Who Participates?
The Civic Voluntarism Model
Who Votes?
Campaign Activity
Direct Contacting
Communal Activity
Who Protests?
Internet Activism
Comparing the Correlates of Different Activities
Participation and the Democratic Process
Suggested Readings
Notes
PART II. POLITICAL ORIENTATIONS
CHAPTER 5. Values in Change
The Nature of Value Change
The Distribution of Values
How Values Change
The Consequences of Value Change
Social Change and Value Change
Suggested Readings
Notes
CHAPTER 6. Issues and Ideological Orientations
Socioeconomic Issues and the State
Cultural Issues
Foreign Policy Opinions
Left/Right Orientations
Public Opinion and Political Change
Suggested Readings
Notes
PART III. THE ELECTORAL CONNECTION
CHAPTER 7. Elections and Political Parties
The History of Party Systems
Four Contemporary Party Systems
The Structure of Political Alignments
Party Systems Today
Suggested Readings
Notes
CHAPTER 8. The Social Bases of Party Support
The Logic of Social Groups and Voting
Social Class and the Vote
Why Is Class Voting Decreasing?
Religion and the Vote
Other Social Group Differences
The Transformation of Social Cleavages
Suggested Readings
Notes
CHAPTER 9. Partisanship and Voting
A Sociopsychological Model of Voting
Partisan Attitudes
The Consequences of Partisanship
Partisan Dealignment
Causes of Dealignment
The Consequences of Dealignment
Cognitive Mobilization and Apartisans
Politics in a Dealigned Era
Suggested Readings
Notes
CHAPTER 10. Attitudes and Voting Choice
Principles of Issue Voting
Position Issues and the Vote
Policy Cleavages and the Vote
Performance Issues and the Vote
Candidate Images and the Vote
The End of the Causal Funnel
One Electorate or Many?
Citizen Politics and Voting Behavior
Suggested Readings
Notes
CHAPTER 11. Political Representation
Collective Correspondence
Dyadic Correspondence
The Party Government Model
The Impact of Representation
Suggested Readings
Notes
PART IV. DEMOCRACY AND THE FUTURE
CHAPTER 12. Citizens and the Democratic Process
The Types of Political Support
Declining Confidence in Authorities
Views of Political Institutions
Support for a Democratic Regime
Community Support
Dissatisfied Democrats
The New Style of Democratic Politics
Suggested Readings
Notes
Appendix A: Statistical Primer
Appendix B: Major Data Sources
Appendix C: 2014 International Social Survey Codebook
References
Index
Product details
| Published | 05 Feb 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 8th |
| Extent | 360 |
| ISBN | 9798881855673 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 50 b/w illustrations; 35 tables |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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