By Popular Demand: Revitalizing Representative Democracy Through Deliberative ElectionsJohn 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. Our growing awareness of a flawed electoral system is causing increased public cynicism and apathy. The most popular reforms, however, will neither restore public trust nor improve representation. Term limits and campaign finance reforms will increase turnover, but they provide no mechanism for improved deliberation and accountability. Building on the success of citizen juries and deliberative polling, Gastil proposes improving our current process by convening randomly selected panels of citizens to deliberate for several days on ballot measures and candidates. Voters would learn about the judgments of these citizen panels through voting guides and possibly information printed on official ballots. The result would be a more representative government and a less cynical public. America has a long history of experimentation with electoral systems, and the proposals in By Popular Demand merit serious consideration and debate. |
Contents
| 1 | |
Exit and Public Voice in Representative Democracy | 10 |
Why Elections Fail to Ensure Accountability | 32 |
Appraising Radical and Conventional Electoral Reforms | 68 |
Public Expression in American Politics | 90 |
Glimpses of the Deliberative Public | 112 |
The Citizen Panels Proposal | 137 |
Other editions - View all
By Popular Demand: Revitalizing Representative Democracy Through ... John Gastil Limited preview - 2000 |
By Popular Demand: Revitalizing Representative Democracy Through ... John Gastil No preview available - 2000 |
Common terms and phrases
actions American political argues attitudes average ballot behavior bills campaign candidate evaluation challengers chapter choices citizen juries citizen panelists citizen panels Congress congressional critics cues debate decisions Deliberative Democracy deliberative poll democracy democratic direct democracy discussion district effective elec elected officials elites ensure example federal Fishkin form of public Gastil groupthink Hirschman ideological impact incumbent individual influence institutions interests James Fishkin jurors Kettering Foundation legislative panels lobbyists loyalty majority moderator National Issues Forums nonvoting opponent organizations panel judgments participants partisan party percent presidential primary priority panel problem programs public deliberation public officials public opinion public trust public voice races random sample forums ratings reelection reform representation representative representative democracy Republican response Rice County Robert Dahl self-efficacy Senate small group social survey talk radio term limits tion tive views voter guides voting