Facing the Challenge of Democracy : : Explorations in the Analysis of Public Opinion and Political Participation / / ed. by Benjamin Highton, Paul M. Sniderman.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013
• MitwirkendeR: Aldrich, John H.,; Ansolabehere, Stephen,; Carmines, Edward G.,; Citrin, Jack,; Dilliplane, Susanna,; Ellis, Christopher,; Ensley, Michael J.,; Freeze, Melanie,; Green, Donald P.,; Hersh, Eitan,; Highton, Benjamin,; Jackman, Simon,; Jacobson, Gary C.,; Knee, Matthew R.,; Krasno, Jonathan,; Lupia, Arthur,; Magleby, David B.,; McGhee, Eric,; Mutz, Diana,; Nelson, Candice J.,; Page, Benjamin I.,; Pearson, Kathryn,; Schickler, Eric,; Sides, John,; Sniderman, Paul M.,; Stimson, James A.,; Vavreck, Lynn,; Wagner, Michael W.,; Westlye, Mark C.,; Xie, Tao,
• HerausgeberIn: Highton, Benjamin,; Sniderman, Paul M.,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2011]; ©2012
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Edition: Course Book
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (416 p.) :; 28 line illus. 53 tables.

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.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Contributors -- Introduction: Facing the Challenge of Democracy -- Part I: The Political Logic of Preference Consistency -- I. How Do Political Scientists Know What Citizens Want? -- II. Purposive Mass Belief Systems concerning Foreign Policy -- III. Cosmopolitanism -- IV. Running to the Right -- V. Pathways to Conservative Identification -- Part II. Polarization and the Party System -- VI. Partisan Differences in Job Approval Ratings of George W. Bush and U.S. Senators in the States -- VII. Political Participation, Polarization, and Public Opinion -- VIII. Political Parties in the Capital Economy of Modern Campaigns -- IX. Candidates and Parties in Congressional Elections -- X. The Myth of the Independent Voter Revisited -- Part III. Participation and Representation -- XI. Who Really Votes? -- XII. Who Governs if Everyone Votes? -- XIII. The Effects of Registration Laws on Voter Turnout -- XIV. Issue Preferences, Civic Engagement, and the Transformation of American Politics -- References -- Index