The Political System Matters

The Political System Matters PDF Author: Donald Granberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521360315
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
Originally published in 1988, this book asks the question, how does the political system affect the behaviour of individuals? Donald Granberg and Sören Holmberg use long-term cross-sectional and panel national surveys of electorates in two very different democratic systems - Sweden and the United States - to examine an issue that has implications for our understanding of both social and psychological processes and also political systems in general. Their interdisciplinary and comparative survey considers such topics as ideological perception of abstract and concrete issues at the party and individual level; the polarisation, interrelation and transitivity of attitudes; the relationship between intention and behaviour; and the ways in which behaviour may be predicted. The book offers a detailed and convincing analysis of the interaction of political context with social psychological processes. It will be of interest not only to social, political and comparative psychologists, but also to all researchers with an interest in electoral behaviour.

The Political System Matters

The Political System Matters PDF Author: Donald Granberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521360315
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 270

Get Book Here

Book Description
Originally published in 1988, this book asks the question, how does the political system affect the behaviour of individuals? Donald Granberg and Sören Holmberg use long-term cross-sectional and panel national surveys of electorates in two very different democratic systems - Sweden and the United States - to examine an issue that has implications for our understanding of both social and psychological processes and also political systems in general. Their interdisciplinary and comparative survey considers such topics as ideological perception of abstract and concrete issues at the party and individual level; the polarisation, interrelation and transitivity of attitudes; the relationship between intention and behaviour; and the ways in which behaviour may be predicted. The book offers a detailed and convincing analysis of the interaction of political context with social psychological processes. It will be of interest not only to social, political and comparative psychologists, but also to all researchers with an interest in electoral behaviour.

What Americans Know about Politics and why it Matters

What Americans Know about Politics and why it Matters PDF Author: Michael X. Delli Carpini
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300072754
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
The authors explore how Americans' levels of political knowledge have changed over the past 50 years, how such knowledge is distributed among different groups, and how it is used in political decision-making. Drawing on extensive survey data, they present compelling evidence for benefits of a politically informed citizenry--and the cost of one that is poorly and inequitably informed. 62 illustrations.

The Political Class

The Political Class PDF Author: Peter Allen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198795971
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
There is a gap between politicians and the general public. The current British political class is widely viewed as uniform in who they are, what they think, and how they behave. A more diverse pool of politicians would not only better reflect democratic principles of equality, but may even result in better political outcomes.

Linking Citizens and Parties

Linking Citizens and Parties PDF Author: Lawrence Ezrow
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199572526
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Linking Citizens and Parties highlights the pathways through which citizens' political preferences are expressed by their political parties.

Why Parties Matter

Why Parties Matter PDF Author: John H. Aldrich
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022649540X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 319

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Book Description
Since the founding of the American Republic, the North and South have followed remarkably different paths of political development. Among the factors that have led to their divergence throughout much of history are differences in the levels of competition among the political parties. While the North has generally enjoyed a well-defined two-party system, the South has tended to have only weakly developed political parties—and at times no system of parties to speak of. With Why Parties Matter, John H. Aldrich and John D. Griffin make a compelling case that competition between political parties is an essential component of a democracy that is responsive to its citizens and thus able to address their concerns. Tracing the history of the parties through four eras—the Democratic-Whig party era that preceded the Civil War; the post-Reconstruction period; the Jim Crow era, when competition between the parties virtually disappeared; and the modern era—Aldrich and Griffin show how and when competition emerged between the parties and the conditions under which it succeeded and failed. In the modern era, as party competition in the South has come to be widely regarded as matching that of the North, the authors conclude by exploring the question of whether the South is poised to become a one-party system once again with the Republican party now dominant.

Political Emotions

Political Emotions PDF Author: Martha C. Nussbaum
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674728297
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 461

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Book Description
How can we achieve and sustain a "decent" liberal society, one that aspires to justice and equal opportunity for all and inspires individuals to sacrifice for the common good? In this book, a continuation of her explorations of emotions and the nature of social justice, Martha Nussbaum makes the case for love. Amid the fears, resentments, and competitive concerns that are endemic even to good societies, public emotions rooted in love—in intense attachments to things outside our control—can foster commitment to shared goals and keep at bay the forces of disgust and envy. Great democratic leaders, including Abraham Lincoln, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr., have understood the importance of cultivating emotions. But people attached to liberalism sometimes assume that a theory of public sentiments would run afoul of commitments to freedom and autonomy. Calling into question this perspective, Nussbaum investigates historical proposals for a public "civil religion" or "religion of humanity" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Auguste Comte, John Stuart Mill, and Rabindranath Tagore. She offers an account of how a decent society can use resources inherent in human psychology, while limiting the damage done by the darker side of our personalities. And finally she explores the cultivation of emotions that support justice in examples drawn from literature, song, political rhetoric, festivals, memorials, and even the design of public parks. "Love is what gives respect for humanity its life," Nussbaum writes, "making it more than a shell." Political Emotionsis a challenging and ambitious contribution to political philosophy.

Why Trust Matters

Why Trust Matters PDF Author: Marc J. Hetherington
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691128707
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
American public policy has become demonstrably more conservative since the 1960s. Neither Jimmy Carter nor Bill Clinton was much like either John F. Kennedy or Lyndon Johnson. The American public, however, has not become more conservative. Why, then, the right turn in public policy? Using both individual and aggregate level survey data, Marc Hetherington shows that the rapid decline in Americans' political trust since the 1960s is critical to explaining this puzzle. As people lost faith in the federal government, the delivery system for most progressive policies, they supported progressive ideas much less. The 9/11 attacks increased such trust as public attention focused on security, but the effect was temporary. Specifically, Hetherington shows that, as political trust declined, so too did support for redistributive programs, such as welfare and food stamps, and race-targeted programs. While the presence of race in a policy area tends to make political trust important for whites, trust affects policy preferences in other, non-race-related policy areas as well. In the mid-1990s the public was easily swayed against comprehensive health care reform because those who felt they could afford coverage worried that a large new federal bureaucracy would make things worse for them. In demonstrating a strong link between public opinion and policy outcomes, this engagingly written book represents a substantial contribution to the study of public opinion and voting behavior, policy, and American politics generally.

Do Institutions Matter?

Do Institutions Matter? PDF Author: R. Kent Weaver
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 081571436X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 513

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Book Description
As a stunning tide of democratization sweeps across much of the world, countries must cope with increasing problems of economic development, political and social integration, and greater public demand of scarce resources. That ability to respond effectively to these issues depends largely on the institutional choices of each of these newly democratizing countries. With critics of national political institutions in the United States arguing that the American separation-of-powers system promotes ineffectiveness and policy deadlock, many question whether these countries should emulate American institutions or choose parliamentary institutions instead. The essays in this book fully examine whether parliamentary government is superior to the separation-of-powers system through a direct comparison of the two. In addressing specific policy areas—such as innovation and implementation of energy policies after the oil shocks of 1970, management of societal cleavages, setting of government priorities in budgeting, representation of diffuse interest in environmental policy, and management of defense forces—the authors define capabilities that allow governments to respond to policy problems. Do Institutions Matter? includes case studies that bear important evidence on when and how institutions influence government effectiveness. The authors discover a widespread variation among parliamentary systems both in institutional arrangements and in governmental capabilities, and find that many of the failings of policy performance commonly attributed to American political institutions are in fact widely shared among western industrial countries. Moreover, they show how American political institutions inhibit some government capabilities while enhancing others. Changing American institutions to improve some aspects of governmental performance could hurt other widely valued capabilities. The authors draw important guidelines for institutional reformers wh

The Message Matters

The Message Matters PDF Author: Lynn Vavreck
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691139630
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Demonstrating how candidates and their campaigns affect the economic vote, this book provides a different way of understanding past elections - and predicting future ones. It offers a theory of campaigns that explains why electoral victory requires more than simply being the candidate favored by prevailing economic conditions.

Voting Behavior in Europe

Voting Behavior in Europe PDF Author: Erik Oppenhuis
Publisher: Het Spinhuis
ISBN: 9789055890248
Category : Comparative government
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description