Judgment and choice are at the core of all politics. This chapter develops a general
framework for the study of individual decision-making that applies equally well to both elites …

Individuals do not always express their private political opinions in front of others who
disagree. Neither political scientists nor psychologists have been able to firmly establish why …

elections, voting behavior and public opinion are arguably among the most prominent and
intensively researched sub-fields within political science. it is an evolving sub-field, in terms …

Spatial theories of voting are appealing because they link voters' electoral choices to
candidates' policy positions. Yet if voters lack political sophistication and awareness of …

This book addresses opinion leadership in democratic politics as a process whereby
individuals send and receive information through their informally based networks of political …

Objectives Recent research has shown a link between patriotism and civic participation. This
research assumes that the causal arrow flows from patriotism to civic participation, but a …

Normative theory extols the virtues of disagreement to democracy, but evidence to support
these suppositions is somewhat mixed. This chapter reviews the empirical literature on …

Due to technological changes in today's communication environments, the investigation of
media use and media effects has become an ever more complex research venture. In order …

Networks of communication among interdependent citizens constitute the connecting tissue
between citizens and electorates, revealing an electoral whole that is different from the sum …

Learning through social communication is promoted when citizens are able to identify which
of their associates is likely to possess the necessary political information. This paper …