Sniderman P.M., Highton B.(eds.) Facing the Challenge of Democracy: Explorations in the Analysis of Public Opinion and Political Participation

Princeton University Press, 2011. - 416 pagesISBN10: 0691151105, 0691151113Citizens 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.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.List of Contributors
Introduction: Facing the Challenge of Democracy by Paul M. Sniderman and Benjamin Highton
The Political Logic of Preference Consistency
How Do Political Scientists Know What Citizens Want? An Essay on Theory and Measurement by Arthur Lupia
Purposive Mass Belief Systems concerning Foreign Policy Benjamin I. Page and Tao Xie
Cosmopolitanism by Simon Jackman and Lynn Vavreck 70
Running to the Right: Effects of Campaign Strategy on Mass Opinion and Behavior by Diana Mutz and Susanna Dilliplane
Pathways to Conservative Identification: The Politics of Ideological Contradiction in the United States by Christopher Ellis and James A. Stimson
Polarization and the Party System
Partisan Differences in Job Approval Ratings of George W. Bush and U.S. Senators in the States: An Exploration by Gary C. Jacobson
Political Participation, Polarization, and Public Opinion: Activism and the Merging of Partisan and Ideological Polarization by John H. Aldrich and Melanie Freeze
Political Parties in the Capital Economy of Modern Campaigns by Jonathan Krasno
Candidates and Parties in Congressional Elections: Revisiting Candidate-Centered Conclusions in a Partisan Era by Eric McGhee and Kathryn Pearson
The Myth of the Independent Voter Revisited by David B. Magleby, Candice J. Nelson, and Mark C. Westlye
Participation and Representation
Who Really Votes? By Stephen Ansolabehere and Eitan Hersh
Who Governs if Everyone Votes? By John Sides, Eric Schickler, and Jack Citrin
The Effects of Registration Laws on Voter Turnout: An Updated Assessment by Matthew R. Knee and Donald P. Green
Issue Preferences, Civic Engagement, and the Transformation of American Politics by Edward G. Carmines, Michael J. Ensley, and Michael W. Wagner