Direct Democratic Choice: The Swiss Experience

Naslovnica
Lexington Books, 17. lis 2005. - Broj stranica: 252
Direct Democratic Choice sets out to understand how the citizens actually decide in direct-democratic votes. Author Hanspeter Kriesi has analyzed nearly twenty years of post-election surveys in Switzerland (1981-1999), which he has contextualized according to the various political issues and the relevant arguments provided by the political elites. This book's core argument is that the citizens who participate in direct-democratic votes make competent choices. Kriesi's extensive empirical research shows that the majority of these voters arrive at their decisions on the basis of arguments about the advantages and disadvantages of the available options. The less competent and less interested citizens either do not vote or, if they do, employ heuristic shortcuts allowing them to make approximately reasonable decisions. Kriesi provides strong support for an optimistic view of direct-democratic decision-making but also indicates that this process, wherever it occurs, can be improved by proper institutional design and by appropriate strategies enacted by the political elite.

Iz unutrašnjosti knjige

Odabrane stranice

Sadržaj

Toward a Realistic Theory of Direct Democracy
1
Chapter 2 The Structuration of the Choice
19
The Role of the Political Elite
45
Chapter 4 Political Awareness
87
Chapter 5 Participation
111
Chapter 6 Heuristic Strategies
137
Chapter 7 ArgumentBased Strategies
175
Chapter 8 The Relative Importance of the Two Strategies
199
Chapter 9 Conclusion
227
Bibliography
241
Index
255
About the Author
263
Autorska prava

Ostala izdanja - Prikaži sve

Uobičajeni izrazi i fraze

O autoru (2005)

Hanspeter Kriesi is Director of the Center for Comparative and International Studies, University of Zurich.

Bibliografski podaci