Since its first edition in 1988, Citizen Politics has provided a concise examination of citizens’ political behavior and politicians’ responses in advanced industrial democracies. It communicates findings from state-of-the-art research on parties, public opinion, and voters in a way that is at once accessible and comprehensive. It argues that ordinary people do, in fact, have what it takes to meet the demands of their roles as citizens in representative democracies.
Informed by evidence from cross-national public opinion surveys, past editions of the book offered a tone of moderation—or perhaps guarded optimism—that leans against the more extreme, attention-grabbing approach of the 24-hour news cycle. The newly revised eighth edition continues in this vein. The text focuses on opinion, voter choice, and political representation by comparing recent elections in the UK, France, Germany, and the United States. The basic chapter structure continues with updated results from several new elections in each of the four core nations, new surveys, and new literature.
This new edition also focuses more on the contemporary challenges facing democracies and their citizens. The attack at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, brought to the fore how much democratic stability requires the consent of the governed and respect for established rules and norms by citizens and elites. This and other events have pushed researchers to revisit foundational questions about the role of the citizen in a democracy.
