Citizen Attitudes and Political Behavior
Comparative Political Studies, 33 (6/7):
912--941 (2000)Zusammenfassung
Focuses on the relationship between citizen behavior and the institutions of government and the political process. Information on political cognition and sophistication; Discussion on the electoral choice of citizens; Participation of polities in political processes.
This article thus reviews some of the central research questions and research advances in comparative political behavior, roughly spanning the period of publication for Comparative Political Studies but with a special emphasis on the past decade. It is not possible to provide a comprehensive review of the field in a few pages (see also Barnes, 1997; Dalton & Wattenberg, 1993; Kaase & Newton, 1995; Klingemann & Fuchs, 1995). Instead, I focus on major areas in which scholars have made significant scientific advances in recent years. Although these examples are largely drawn from research on advanced industrial societies, they also are relevant to the process of transition for emerging democracies. These are areas in which we can expand our present knowledge in the context of this global wave of democratization.