Before norms : institutions and civic culture / Robert W. Jackman and Ross A. Miller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jackman, Robert W., 1946-

Contributor:

Miller, Ross A., 1965-

Michigan Publishing (University of Michigan), publisher.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political culture.

Political sociology.

Social norms.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 244 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, c2004.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

The potato famines of the nineteenth century were long attributed to Irish indolence. The Stalinist system was blamed on a Russian proclivity for autocracy. Muslim men have been accused of an inclination to terrorism. Is political behavior really the result of cultural upbringing, or does the vast range of human political action stem more from institutional and structural constraints? This important new book carefully examines the role of institutions and civic culture in the establishment of political norms. Jackman and Miller methodically refute the Weberian cultural theory of politics and build in its place a persuasive case for the ways in which institutions shape the political behavior of ordinary citizens. Their rigorous examination of grassroots electoral participation reveals no evidence for even a residual effect of cultural values on political behavior, but instead provides consistent support for the institutional view. Before Norms speaks to urgent debates among political scientists and sociologists over the origins of individual political behavior. Robert W. Jackman is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Davis. Ross A. Miller is Associate Professor of Political Science at Santa Clara University.

Contents:

1 The Issues 1

Part 1 Cultural and Social Capital Approaches

2 The Protestant Ethic Thesis 33

3 Civic Virtue in Italy and the United States 59

4 Civic Virtue, Growth, and Democratization 98

Part 2 The Institutional Alternative

5 Institutions and Voter Turnout 137

6 Institutions and Support for Parties of the Extreme Right (with Karin Volpert) 163

7 Culture, Institutions, and Political Behavior 188.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 201-223) and index.

Description based on information from the publisher.

ISBN:

9780472030941

0472113968

Publisher Number:

10.3998/mpub.17553

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.