Citizen Politics in Western Democracies: Public Opinion and Political Parties in the US, UK, Germany and France - Softcover

Dalton, Russell J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1566430267 ISBN 13: 9781566430265

Publisher: Chatham House Publishers Inc.,U.S., 1996

Synopsis

The first edition of this book offered the theory that the "quality" of citizen politics is alive and well whereas the institutions of democracy are in disarray. The author argued that citizens are not as uninvolved, uninformed and undemocratic as thier critics suggest. With the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Empire, there arose an unbridled and uncritical enthusiasm for democratic politics. This edition expands on the original theory and also highlights the newly-found strengths and challenges today's democracy must face. The book introduces the concept of citizen political behaviour, the questions that remain about it, and the implications of it. The analysis focuses on the United States, Great Britain, Germany and France in a broad cross-national context.

About this title

From the Author:

What's new in the second edition
CITIZEN POLITICS makes the provocative argument that contemporary publics deserve more democracy. It discusses changing patterns of political participation, changes in public values, and how these trends are affecting electoral politics and public support for democracy. Compared to the first edition, this new edition has expanded the scope to include selected data from 18 Western democracies, and includes a data diskette with SPSS files from the World Values Survey. It is especially appropriate for college courses on public opinion, comparative parties, or European politics.

About the Author:

Russell J. Dalton is professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine and the author, co-author, or editor of many books, including Democratic Challenges, Democratic Choices: The Erosion of Political Support in Advanced Industrial Democracies (2004), Critical Masses: Citizens, Environmental Destruction, and Nuclear Weapons Production in Russia and the United States (1999), and The Green Rainbow: Environmental Interest Groups in Western Europe (1994).

About this edition

• Publisher: Chatham House Publishers Inc.,U.S.
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 1566430267
• ISBN 13: 9781566430265
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 286