Facing the Challenge of Democracy: Explorations in the Analysis of Public Opinion and Political Participation

by Paul M. Sniderman (Editor), Benjamin Highton (Editor)

Overview

Citizens are political simpletons--that is only a modest exaggeration of a common characterization of voters. Certainly, there is no shortage of evidence of citizens' limited political knowledge, even about matters of the highest importance, along with inconsistencies in their thinking, some glaring by any standard. But this picture of citizens all too often approaches caricature.


Paul Sniderman and Benjamin Highton bring together leading political scientists who offer new insights into the political thinking of the public, the causes of party polarization, the motivations for political participation, and the paradoxical relationship between turnout and democratic representation. These studies propel a foundational argument about democracy. Voters can only do as well as the alternatives on offer. These alternatives are constrained by third players, in particular activists, interest groups, and financial contributors. The result: voters often appear to be shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent because the alternatives they must choose between are shortsighted, extreme, and inconsistent.



Facing the Challenge of Democracy features contributions by John Aldrich, Stephen Ansolabehere, Edward Carmines, Jack Citrin, Susanna Dilliplane, Christopher Ellis, Michael Ensley, Melanie Freeze, Donald Green, Eitan Hersh, Simon Jackman, Gary Jacobson, Matthew Knee, Jonathan Krasno, Arthur Lupia, David Magleby, Eric McGhee, Diana Mutz, Candice Nelson, Benjamin Page, Kathryn Pearson, Eric Schickler, John Sides, James Stimson, Lynn Vavreck, Michael Wagner, Mark Westlye, and Tao Xie.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781400840304
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	10/10/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Paul M. Sniderman is the Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Jr., Professor of Public Policy at Stanford University. Benjamin Highton is associate professor of political science at the University of California, Davis.

Table of Contents

Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
List of Contributors xiii


Introduction: Facing the Challenge of Democracy by Paul M. Sniderman and Benjamin Highton 1


Part I: The Political Logic of Preference Consistency
Chapter I. How Do Political Scientists Know What Citizens Want? An Essay on Theory and Measurement by Arthur Lupia 23
Chapter II. Purposive Mass Belief Systems concerning Foreign Policy Benjamin I. Page and Tao Xie 47
Chapter III. Cosmopolitanism by Simon Jackman and Lynn Vavreck 70
Chapter IV. Running to the Right: Effects of Campaign Strategy on Mass Opinion and Behavior by Diana Mutz and Susanna Dilliplane 97
Chapter V. Pathways to Conservative Identification: The Politics of Ideological Contradiction in the United States by Christopher Ellis and James A. Stimson 120


Part II: Polarization and the Party System
Chapter VI. Partisan Differences in Job Approval Ratings of George W. Bush and U.S. Senators in the States: An Exploration by Gary C. Jacobson 153
Chapter VII. Political Participation, Polarization, and Public Opinion: Activism and the Merging of Partisan and Ideological Polarization by John H. Aldrich and Melanie Freeze 185
Chapter VIII. Political Parties in the Capital Economy of Modern Campaigns by Jonathan Krasno 207
Chapter IX. Candidates and Parties in Congressional Elections: Revisiting Candidate-Centered Conclusions in a Partisan Era by Eric McGhee and Kathryn Pearson 224
Chapter X. The Myth of the Independent Voter Revisited by David B. Magleby, Candice J. Nelson, and Mark C. Westlye 238


Part III: Participation and Representation
Chapter XI. Who Really Votes? By Stephen Ansolabehere and Eitan Hersh 267
Chapter XII. Who Governs if Everyone Votes? By John Sides, Eric Schickler, and Jack Citrin 292
Chapter XIII. T he Effects of Registration Laws on Voter Turnout: An Updated Assessment by Matthew R. Knee and Donald P. Green 312
Chapter XIV. I ssue Preferences, Civic Engagement, and the Transformation of American Politics by Edward G. Carmines, Michael J. Ensley, and Michael W. Wagner 329


References 355
Index 379

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Raymond Wolfinger taught me two things: be guided by common sense, even (and above all) when doing theory. And that, to understand how democracy works, we need first of all to pay attention to ordinary people and how they think and act. This volume exemplifies both these ideas and advances them further than I would have thought possible. This book greatly enlarges our understanding of American democracy."—John A. Ferejohn, New York University School of Law

"These remarkable essays by the profession's leading political scientists not only honor one of the great social scientists, teachers, and mentors of the twentieth century, but advance the long-standing debate about the quality of democracy in America. They are vintage Wolfinger in their approach—confronting sage theories and everyday notions of politics with hard facts."—Steven J. Rosenstone, chancellor, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

"This lucid collection should give pause to skeptics about democracy. It offers a strong argument that the public is more engaged, consistent in its opinions, and rational in its voting than conventional wisdom holds."—Scott Keeter, Pew Research Center

Editorial Reviews

"These remarkable essays by the profession's leading political scientists not only honor one of the great social scientists, teachers, and mentors of the twentieth century, but advance the long-standing debate about the quality of democracy in America. They are vintage Wolfinger in their approach—confronting sage theories and everyday notions of politics with hard facts."—Steven J. Rosenstone, chancellor, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

"This lucid collection should give pause to skeptics about democracy. It offers a strong argument that the public is more engaged, consistent in its opinions, and rational in its voting than conventional wisdom holds."—Scott Keeter, Pew Research Center

"Raymond Wolfinger taught me two things: be guided by common sense, even (and above all) when doing theory. And that, to understand how democracy works, we need first of all to pay attention to ordinary people and how they think and act. This volume exemplifies both these ideas and advances them further than I would have thought possible. This book greatly enlarges our understanding of American democracy."—John A. Ferejohn, New York University School of Law

From the Publisher