Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies

by Russell J. Dalton

Now, more than ever, people drive the democratic process. What people think of their government and its leaders, how (or whether) they vote, and what they do or say about a host of political issues greatly affect the further strengthening or erosion of democracy and democratic ideals. With helpful restructuring, the new fifth edition of Citizen Politics is even more student-friendly while continuing to offer the only truly comparative study of political attitudes and behavior in the United States, Great Britain, France, and Germany.

In addition to its comprehensive, thematic examination of political values, political activity, voting, and public images of government within a cross-national context, Citizen Politics now explores new forms of political activity, such as Internet-based activism, and new forms of political consumerism. All of the chapters have been updated with the latest research and empirical evidence, including new data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems project, the World Values Survey, the International Social Survey Program, and the British and German national election studies. Further, Dalton devotes more attention to current academic debates over the decline of participation, the erosion of political support, and the implications for democracy.

Genres: Politics, Academic, Nonfiction, Research, School

352 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1996

About the author

Russell J. Dalton is Professor of Political Science and Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of California, Irvine. He has received a Fulbright Professorship at the University of Mannheim, a Barbra Streisand Center fellowship, German Marshall Research Fellowship and a POSCO Fellowship at the East/West Center. His scholarly interests include comparative political behavior, political parties, social movements, and empirical democratic theory.

Reviews

[Juan Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russell J. Dalton actualiza en el 2020 este clásico de la ciencia política.

Esta séptima edición es una reflexión detallada sobre las correlaciones que mueven a los sistemas democráticos con datos detallados de opinión pública en 4 democracias "afluentes".

Es muy interesante ver en estudios de opinión y estadísticos cambios en la participación política, el impacto de la dimensión posmaterialistas en la escala de afiliación ideológica, la dispersión de partidos y la confianza en el sistema democrático, entre otros.

Al final, un optimista moderado con buenos datos no puede estar loco.

[Michael Griswold · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not terribly sure that I share the optimism that is a feature of Russell Dalton's Citizen Politics that the average person on the street has a meaningful impact on the political process throughout Western Europe and the United States, given how politically unaware our society is, but overall its' very well written and conscience which isn't something that can be said about many graduate level textbooks.

Many of the chapters are quick reads that are chocked full of information about how vital citizens are to the development of the political process in industrialized democracies...though at no point does this information overwhelm the reader like many grad texts that are often more concerned about how many 50 dollar words they can spread round than presenting meaningful information and debate. Bravo for the effort, Mr. Dalton.

[Tiffeni Russo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dalton’s politics

Citizen Politics is great for any political science student who wishes to understand voting behavior. He provides an understanding of the great divide between political parties and how this country is being shaped by the people in our Oval Office.