Cambridge Studies in Public Opinion and Political Psychology- Citizens, Politics and Social Communication

This book is the culmination of a community based election study that investigates the consequences that arise due to the contexts, networks, and environments of individual citizens. These issues are pursued empirically on the basis of a three wave panel survey undertaken in South Bend, Indiana before, during, and after the 1984 election campaign.



Democratic politics is a collective enterprise, not simply because individual votes are counted to determine winners, but more fundamentally because the individual exercise of citizenship is an interdependent undertaking. Citizens argue with one another and they generally arrive at political decisions through processes of social interaction and deliberation. This book is dedicated to investigating the political implications of interdependent citizens within the context of the 1984 presidential campaign as it was experienced in the metropolitan area of South Bend, Indiana. Hence this is a community study in the fullest sense of the term. National politics is experienced locally through a series of filters unique to a particular setting and its consequences for the exercise of democratic citizenship.