By popular demand : revitalizing representative democracy through deliberative elections / John Gastil.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gastil, John.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political participation--United States.

Political participation.

Elections--United States.

Elections.

Representative government and representation--United States.

Representative government and representation.

Forums (Discussion and debate).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (276 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley ; London : University of California Press, c2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

John Gastil challenges conventional assumptions about public opinion, elections, and political expression in this persuasive treatise on how to revitalize the system of representative democracy in the United States. Gastil argues that American citizens have difficulty developing clear policy interests, seldom reject unrepresentative public officials, and lack a strong public voice.

Contents:

Preliminaries; Contents; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction; 2. Exit and Public Voice in Representative Democracy; 3. Why Elections Fail to Ensure Accountability; 4. Appraising Radical and Conventional Electoral Reforms; 5. Public Expression in American Politics; 6. Glimpses of the Deliberative Public; 7. The Citizen Panels Proposal; 8. The Political Impact of Citizen Panels; 9. Electoral Experimentation; Notes; References; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-257) and index.

ISBN:

0-520-92500-9

1-59734-518-0

OCLC:

475931195