Political talk over here, over there, over time

British Journal of Political Science

Volumn 30, Issue 1, 2000, Pages 99-119

  Bennett, Stephen E ^a   Flickinger, Richard S ^a   Rhine, Staci L ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0039176284     PISSN: 00071234     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0007123400000053     Document Type: Article

References (73)

1. See, e.g., Benjamin Barber, Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984); John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems (New York: Holt, 1927); John S. Dryzek, Discursive Democracy: Politics, Policy and Political Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990); Jane Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy, rev. edn (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983); John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, ed. Currin V. Shields (Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958); Mill, On Liberty, ed. Elizabeth Rapoport (Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett, 1978); and Dennis F. Thompson, The Democratic Citizen: Social Science and Democratic Theory in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970).
2. See, e.g., Benjamin Barber, Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984); John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems (New York: Holt, 1927); John S. Dryzek, Discursive Democracy: Politics, Policy and Political Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990); Jane Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy, rev. edn (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983); John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, ed. Currin V. Shields (Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958); Mill, On Liberty, ed. Elizabeth Rapoport (Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett, 1978); and Dennis F. Thompson, The Democratic Citizen: Social Science and Democratic Theory in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970).
3. See, e.g., Benjamin Barber, Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984); John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems (New York: Holt, 1927); John S. Dryzek, Discursive Democracy: Politics, Policy and Political Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990); Jane Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy, rev. edn (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983); John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, ed. Currin V. Shields (Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958); Mill, On Liberty, ed. Elizabeth Rapoport (Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett, 1978); and Dennis F. Thompson, The Democratic Citizen: Social Science and Democratic Theory in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970).
4. See, e.g., Benjamin Barber, Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984); John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems (New York: Holt, 1927); John S. Dryzek, Discursive Democracy: Politics, Policy and Political Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990); Jane Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy, rev. edn (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983); John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, ed. Currin V. Shields (Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958); Mill, On Liberty, ed. Elizabeth Rapoport (Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett, 1978); and Dennis F. Thompson, The Democratic Citizen: Social Science and Democratic Theory in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970).
5. See, e.g., Benjamin Barber, Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984); John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems (New York: Holt, 1927); John S. Dryzek, Discursive Democracy: Politics, Policy and Political Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990); Jane Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy, rev. edn (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983); John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, ed. Currin V. Shields (Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958); Mill, On Liberty, ed. Elizabeth Rapoport (Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett, 1978); and Dennis F. Thompson, The Democratic Citizen: Social Science and Democratic Theory in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970).
6. See, e.g., Benjamin Barber, Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984); John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems (New York: Holt, 1927); John S. Dryzek, Discursive Democracy: Politics, Policy and Political Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990); Jane Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy, rev. edn (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983); John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, ed. Currin V. Shields (Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958); Mill, On Liberty, ed. Elizabeth Rapoport (Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett, 1978); and Dennis F. Thompson, The Democratic Citizen: Social Science and Democratic Theory in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970).
7. See, e.g., Benjamin Barber, Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984); John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems (New York: Holt, 1927); John S. Dryzek, Discursive Democracy: Politics, Policy and Political Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990); Jane Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy, rev. edn (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983); John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, ed. Currin V. Shields (Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1958); Mill, On Liberty, ed. Elizabeth Rapoport (Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett, 1978); and Dennis F. Thompson, The Democratic Citizen: Social Science and Democratic Theory in the Twentieth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970).
8. See, e.g., Stephen Earl Bennett, Bonnie Fisher and David Resnick, 'Political Conversations in the United States: Who Talks to Whom, Why and Why Not', American Review of Politics, 16 (1995), 277-98; William A. Gamson, Talking Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992); Susan B. Hansen, 'Talking about Politics: Gender and Contextual Effects on Political Proselytizing', Journal of Politics, 59 (1997), 73-103; Robert Huckfeldt and John Sprague, Citizens, Politics, and Social Communication: Information and Influence in an Election Campaign (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995); and Michael MacKuen, 'Speaking of Politics: Individual Conversational Choice, Public Opinion, and the Prospects of Deliberative Democracy', in John A. Ferejohn and James H. Kuklinski, eds, Information and Democratic Processes (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990), pp. 59-99.
9. See, e.g., Stephen Earl Bennett, Bonnie Fisher and David Resnick, 'Political Conversations in the United States: Who Talks to Whom, Why and Why Not', American Review of Politics, 16 (1995), 277-98; William A. Gamson, Talking Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992); Susan B. Hansen, 'Talking about Politics: Gender and Contextual Effects on Political Proselytizing', Journal of Politics, 59 (1997), 73-103; Robert Huckfeldt and John Sprague, Citizens, Politics, and Social Communication: Information and Influence in an Election Campaign (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995); and Michael MacKuen, 'Speaking of Politics: Individual Conversational Choice, Public Opinion, and the Prospects of Deliberative Democracy', in John A. Ferejohn and James H. Kuklinski, eds, Information and Democratic Processes (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990), pp. 59-99.
10. See, e.g., Stephen Earl Bennett, Bonnie Fisher and David Resnick, 'Political Conversations in the United States: Who Talks to Whom, Why and Why Not', American Review of Politics, 16 (1995), 277-98; William A. Gamson, Talking Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992); Susan B. Hansen, 'Talking about Politics: Gender and Contextual Effects on Political Proselytizing', Journal of Politics, 59 (1997), 73-103; Robert Huckfeldt and John Sprague, Citizens, Politics, and Social Communication: Information and Influence in an Election Campaign (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995); and Michael MacKuen, 'Speaking of Politics: Individual Conversational Choice, Public Opinion, and the Prospects of Deliberative Democracy', in John A. Ferejohn and James H. Kuklinski, eds, Information and Democratic Processes (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990), pp. 59-99.
11. See, e.g., Stephen Earl Bennett, Bonnie Fisher and David Resnick, 'Political Conversations in the United States: Who Talks to Whom, Why and Why Not', American Review of Politics, 16 (1995), 277-98; William A. Gamson, Talking Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992); Susan B. Hansen, 'Talking about Politics: Gender and Contextual Effects on Political Proselytizing', Journal of Politics, 59 (1997), 73-103; Robert Huckfeldt and John Sprague, Citizens, Politics, and Social Communication: Information and Influence in an Election Campaign (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995); and Michael MacKuen, 'Speaking of Politics: Individual Conversational Choice, Public Opinion, and the Prospects of Deliberative Democracy', in John A. Ferejohn and James H. Kuklinski, eds, Information and Democratic Processes (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990), pp. 59-99.
12. See, e.g., Stephen Earl Bennett, Bonnie Fisher and David Resnick, 'Political Conversations in the United States: Who Talks to Whom, Why and Why Not', American Review of Politics, 16 (1995), 277-98; William A. Gamson, Talking Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992); Susan B. Hansen, 'Talking about Politics: Gender and Contextual Effects on Political Proselytizing', Journal of Politics, 59 (1997), 73-103; Robert Huckfeldt and John Sprague, Citizens, Politics, and Social Communication: Information and Influence in an Election Campaign (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995); and Michael MacKuen, 'Speaking of Politics: Individual Conversational Choice, Public Opinion, and the Prospects of Deliberative Democracy', in John A. Ferejohn and James H. Kuklinski, eds, Information and Democratic Processes (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990), pp. 59-99.
13. See, e.g., Ann N. Crigler and Klaus Bruhn Jensen, 'Discourses on Politics: Talking about Public Issues in the United States and Denmark', in Peter Dahlgren and Clifford Sparks, eds, Communication and Citizenship (London: Routledge, 1991); Robert Huckfeldt and Franz Urban Pappi, 'Political Expertise among Interdependent Citizens: The Value Added Problem in Democratic Politics' (paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, 1996); and Richard Topf, 'Beyond Electoral Participation', in Hans-Dieter Klingemann and Dieter Fuchs, eds, Citizens and the State (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 27-51.
14. See, e.g., Ann N. Crigler and Klaus Bruhn Jensen, 'Discourses on Politics: Talking about Public Issues in the United States and Denmark', in Peter Dahlgren and Clifford Sparks, eds, Communication and Citizenship (London: Routledge, 1991); Robert Huckfeldt and Franz Urban Pappi, 'Political Expertise among Interdependent Citizens: The Value Added Problem in Democratic Politics' (paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, 1996); and Richard Topf, 'Beyond Electoral Participation', in Hans-Dieter Klingemann and Dieter Fuchs, eds, Citizens and the State (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 27-51.
15. See, e.g., Ann N. Crigler and Klaus Bruhn Jensen, 'Discourses on Politics: Talking about Public Issues in the United States and Denmark', in Peter Dahlgren and Clifford Sparks, eds, Communication and Citizenship (London: Routledge, 1991); Robert Huckfeldt and Franz Urban Pappi, 'Political Expertise among Interdependent Citizens: The Value Added Problem in Democratic Politics' (paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, 1996); and Richard Topf, 'Beyond Electoral Participation', in Hans-Dieter Klingemann and Dieter Fuchs, eds, Citizens and the State (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 27-51.
16. The American survey for the Five Nation Study was conducted in 1960 by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), Chicago. The British data were gathered in 1959 by Research Services Ltd. of London. The data were released by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). The 1987 General Social Survey was conducted by NORC and released by the ICPSR. The 1988 and 1992 National Election Studies were conducted by the University of Michigan's Center for Political Studies and released by the ICPSR. The 1992 British General Election Study (BGES) was conducted by the Social and Community Planning Research and released directly to us by the University of Essex's ESRC Data Archive. Mark Carrozza, of the University of Cincinnati's Institute for Policy Research, was very helpful in securing the 1992 BGES. We are responsible for all analyses and interpretations.
17. See Karlheinz Reif and Anna Melich, Eurobarometer 37: Awareness and Importance of Maastricht and the Future of the European Community (Brussels: INRA, March-April 1992; released by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, Ann Arbor, Mich.). See also Ronald Inglehart, Karlheinz Reif and Ann Melich, European Community Studies, 1970-1989: Cumulative File (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, 1992). Although the 1996 American National Election Study asked about engaging in political conversations, the question dealt only with political talk in the last week, making comparisons to more general items exceedingly difficult. The 1997 British National Election Study did not include questions about political talk.
18. See Karlheinz Reif and Anna Melich, Eurobarometer 37: Awareness and Importance of Maastricht and the Future of the European Community (Brussels: INRA, March-April 1992; released by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, Ann Arbor, Mich.). See also Ronald Inglehart, Karlheinz Reif and Ann Melich, European Community Studies, 1970-1989: Cumulative File (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, 1992). Although the 1996 American National Election Study asked about engaging in political conversations, the question dealt only with political talk in the last week, making comparisons to more general items exceedingly difficult. The 1997 British National Election Study did not include questions about political talk.
19. See, e.g., Geraint Parry, George Moyser and Neil Day, Political Participation and Democracy in Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), pp. 19-20; Sidney Verba and Norman H. Nie, Participation in America: Political Democracy and Social Equality (New York: Harper & Row, 1972), pp. 2-3; and Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman Schlozman and Henry E. Brady, Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1995), p. 38.
20. See, e.g., Geraint Parry, George Moyser and Neil Day, Political Participation and Democracy in Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), pp. 19-20; Sidney Verba and Norman H. Nie, Participation in America: Political Democracy and Social Equality (New York: Harper & Row, 1972), pp. 2-3; and Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman Schlozman and Henry E. Brady, Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1995), p. 38.
21. See, e.g., Geraint Parry, George Moyser and Neil Day, Political Participation and Democracy in Britain (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), pp. 19-20; Sidney Verba and Norman H. Nie, Participation in America: Political Democracy and Social Equality (New York: Harper & Row, 1972), pp. 2-3; and Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman Schlozman and Henry E. Brady, Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1995), p. 38.
22. Dryzek, Discursive Democracy, p. 163.
23. See Aristotle, The Politics, ed. Stephen Everson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988).
24. Harold D. Lasswell, Democracy Through Public Opinion (New York: Bantam 1941), p. 81.
25. See, e.g., Aristotle, The Politics; Barber, Strong Democracy; Dewey, The Public and Its Problems; James Fair, 'Framing Democratic Discussion', in George E. Marcus and Russell L. Hanson, eds, Reconsidering the Democratic Citizen (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993), pp. 379-91; Donald R. Kinder and Don Herzog, 'Democratic Discussion', in Marcus and Hanson, eds, Reconsidering the Democratic Citizen, pp. 347-77; Lasswell, Democracy Through Public Opinion; Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy; Mill, Considerations on Representative Government; Mill, On Liberty; and Thompson, The Democratic Citizen.
26. See, e.g., Aristotle, The Politics; Barber, Strong Democracy; Dewey, The Public and Its Problems; James Fair, 'Framing Democratic Discussion', in George E. Marcus and Russell L. Hanson, eds, Reconsidering the Democratic Citizen (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993), pp. 379-91; Donald R. Kinder and Don Herzog, 'Democratic Discussion', in Marcus and Hanson, eds, Reconsidering the Democratic Citizen, pp. 347-77; Lasswell, Democracy Through Public Opinion; Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy; Mill, Considerations on Representative Government; Mill, On Liberty; and Thompson, The Democratic Citizen.
27. See, e.g., Aristotle, The Politics; Barber, Strong Democracy; Dewey, The Public and Its Problems; James Fair, 'Framing Democratic Discussion', in George E. Marcus and Russell L. Hanson, eds, Reconsidering the Democratic Citizen (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993), pp. 379-91; Donald R. Kinder and Don Herzog, 'Democratic Discussion', in Marcus and Hanson, eds, Reconsidering the Democratic Citizen, pp. 347-77; Lasswell, Democracy Through Public Opinion; Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy; Mill, Considerations on Representative Government; Mill, On Liberty; and Thompson, The Democratic Citizen.
28. See, e.g., Aristotle, The Politics; Barber, Strong Democracy; Dewey, The Public and Its Problems; James Fair, 'Framing Democratic Discussion', in George E. Marcus and Russell L. Hanson, eds, Reconsidering the Democratic Citizen (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993), pp. 379-91; Donald R. Kinder and Don Herzog, 'Democratic Discussion', in Marcus and Hanson, eds, Reconsidering the Democratic Citizen, pp. 347-77; Lasswell, Democracy Through Public Opinion; Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy; Mill, Considerations on Representative Government; Mill, On Liberty; and Thompson, The Democratic Citizen.
29. See, e.g., Aristotle, The Politics; Barber, Strong Democracy; Dewey, The Public and Its Problems; James Fair, 'Framing Democratic Discussion', in George E. Marcus and Russell L. Hanson, eds, Reconsidering the Democratic Citizen (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1993), pp. 379-91; Donald R. Kinder and Don Herzog, 'Democratic Discussion', in Marcus and Hanson, eds, Reconsidering the Democratic Citizen, pp. 347-77; Lasswell, Democracy Through Public Opinion; Mansbridge, Beyond Adversary Democracy; Mill, Considerations on Representative Government; Mill, On Liberty; and Thompson, The Democratic Citizen.
30. Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, trans. Richard Crawley (New York: Dutton, 1950), p. 125.
31. Robert E. Lane, Political Life: Why and How People Get Involved in Politics, rev. edn (New York: The Free Press, 1965), p. 80.
32. MacKuen, 'Speaking of Politics', p. 60.
33. The question was the same in all five countries: 'What about talking about public affairs to other people. Do you do that nearly every day, once a week, from time to time, or never?'
34. Gabriel A. Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963), p. 116.
35. Almond and Verba, The Civic Culture, p. 120.
36. See Topf, 'Beyond Electoral Participation'.
37. See Jacob Cohen and Patricia Cohen, Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edn (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1983). Although it makes stringent assumptions about the data and their relationships, OLS regression is sufficiently robust to provide useful information about how much impact a given independent variable has on the dependent variable once the effects of other independent variables are partialled out, and about how well a given multivariate model fits the data.
38. For example, although 75 per cent of Britain's households had television sets in 1959 this was the first British general election campaign extensively covered by television. See Colin Seymour-Ure, The Political Impact of the Mass Media (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1974), chap. 8.
39. See, e.g., Philip E. Converse with Richard G. Niemi, 'Non-Voting among Young Adults in the United States', in William J. Crotty, Donald M. Freeman and Douglas S. Gatlin, eds, Political Parties and Political Behavior, 2nd edn (Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1971), pp. 443-66.
40. The Cohens (Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences) recommend creating a polynomial by subtracting the respondent's score on a variable such as age from the sample's mean score on that variable, and then squaring the case's deviation from the sample mean. This avoids the collinearity problems created when a researcher merely enters age and age-squared as the polynomial. Unfortunately, the coding of age in the Five Nation Study prevent us from following the Cohens' recommendation.
41. Interestingly, given the dates on which the American data were collected, once the effects of other variables are statistically controlled, race had no bearing on political speech. Marvick's re-analysis of Almond and Verba's data found that 55 per cent of the blacks whom they interviewed lived in the South, and that 89 per cent were southern born. See Dwaine Marvick, 'The Political Socialization of the American Negro', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 361 (1965), 112-27. Being born and raised and, for more than half, still living under restrictive Jim Crow legislation kept most southern blacks from participating in politics. A bivariate (F'note continued) contingency table analysis of Almond and Verba's data found that 34 per cent of blacks said they never engaged in political discussions, compared with 23 per cent of whites. Only 7 per cent of the African-Americans said they talked about public affairs nearly every day in 1960, compared with 14 per cent of whites. However, the OLS regression model shows that once other factors are taken into account, race did not affect the frequency with which Americans talked about public affairs in the twilight of the Eisenhower era.
42. See Almond and Verba, The Civic Culture, p. 88; and Stephen Earl Bennett, Apathy in America, 1960-1984 (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Transnational, 1986), pp. 41-3.
43. See Almond and Verba, The Civic Culture, p. 88; and Stephen Earl Bennett, Apathy in America, 1960-1984 (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Transnational, 1986), pp. 41-3.
44. Here we undoubtedly encounter the reciprocality issue. In all likelihood, political interest and talking about politics feed one another. For now, however, all we need do is establish the substantial covariance between the two variables in both countries, even with other significant predictors' effects partialled out.
45. Bennett, Fisher and Resnick, 'Political Conversations in the United States,' pp. 280-3.
46. Paul F. Lazarsfeld, Bernard R. Berelson and Hazel Gaudet, The People 's Choice, 3rd edn (New York: Columbia University Press, 1968); Bernard R. Berelson, Paul F. Lazarsfeld and William N. McPhee, Voting (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1954).
47. Paul F. Lazarsfeld, Bernard R. Berelson and Hazel Gaudet, The People 's Choice, 3rd edn (New York: Columbia University Press, 1968); Bernard R. Berelson, Paul F. Lazarsfeld and William N. McPhee, Voting (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1954).
48. Lane, Political Life, p. 89.
49. MacKuen, 'Speaking of Politics', p. 62.
50. Bennett, Fisher and Resnick, 'Political Conversations in the United States'.
51. Bennett, Fisher and Resnick, 'Political Conversations in the United States'.
52. MacKuen, 'Speaking of Politics'.
53. See especially Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, and On Liberty; and Dewey, The Public and Its Problems.
54. The terminology is Barber's; see his Strong Democracy. 'Thin talk' consists of comments on political events and personalities of the day, while 'strong talk' involves serious discussion and debate about issues. Perhaps this finding is a methodological artefact. Gamson's focus group respondents were evidently able to speak to one another in ways closely resembling 'strong talk' (1993); but perhaps the focus group milieu artificially enhances the quality of interactions.
55. Once again, we run into the issue of reciprocal relationships between political speech and political information. Democratic theorists such as Mill, for example, argued that engaging in political discussions enhanced citizens' knowledge; very likely it does. Although he relies on a limited sample, Kennamer shows a clear link between political discussion and political learning. (J. David Kennamer, 'Political Discussion and Cognition: A 1988 Look', Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 67 (1990), 348-52). It is also likely that the more knowledgeable are more likely to talk about politics. The relationship, in short, is reciprocal. Unfortunately, we lack panel data that would definitively resolve the issue. Moreover, the kind of data available, particularly those from the Five Nation Study, will not bear the very heavy burden of assumptions built into complex statistical analysis techniques, such as two-stage least-squares regression, which are required to test non-recursive multi-variate models. As Eric Smith notes, even the American National Election Studies seldom have sufficient redundancy to create the instrumental variables required to estimate two-stage least-squares equations (Eric R. A. N. Smith, The Unchanging American Voter (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), p. 194).
56. Once again, we run into the issue of reciprocal relationships between political speech and political information. Democratic theorists such as Mill, for example, argued that engaging in political discussions enhanced citizens' knowledge; very likely it does. Although he relies on a limited sample, Kennamer shows a clear link between political discussion and political learning. (J. David Kennamer, 'Political Discussion and Cognition: A 1988 Look', Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 67 (1990), 348-52). It is also likely that the more knowledgeable are more likely to talk about politics. The relationship, in short, is reciprocal. Unfortunately, we lack panel data that would definitively resolve the issue. Moreover, the kind of data available, particularly those from the Five Nation Study, will not bear the very heavy burden of assumptions built into complex statistical analysis techniques, such as two-stage least-squares regression, which are required to test non-recursive multi-variate models. As Eric Smith notes, even the American National Election Studies seldom have sufficient redundancy to create the instrumental variables required to estimate two-stage least-squares equations (Eric R. A. N. Smith, The Unchanging American Voter (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), p. 194).
57. Michael X. Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1996), pp. 218-67.
58. Respondents were asked to specify the political job held by key national figures such as William Rehnquist, Dan Quayle and Tom Foley, which political party held the most seats in the House of Representatives and in the Senate before the election, who nominates federal judges, which branch of government has the authority to decide a law's constitutionality, which political party is more conservative, which political party is more likely to cut social security, which party would be more inclined to raise taxes, and whether the respondent could identify important differences between the two major parties. There are many more information items available on the 1992 ANES; see Stephen Earl Bennett, '"Know-Nothings" Revisited Again', Political Behavior, 18 (1996), 219-33. The eleven were selected to produce an index having about the same number of categories as those from the Five Nation Study and the 1992 British General Election Study. They were also chosen because they tap many of the same types of political information questions as did the Five Nation Study and the 1992 BGES.
59. See John R. Baker, Linda L. M. Bennett, Stephen Earl Bennett and Richard S. Flickinger, 'Citizens' Knowledge of the Legislature in Britain, Canada, and the United States', Journal of Legislative Studies, 2 (1996), 45-63, for a description.
60. See, e.g., Doris A. Graber, 'Wrong Questions, Wrong Answers' (paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, 1996).
61. See, e.g., Philip E. Converse, 'Popular Representation and the Distribution of Political Information', in Ferejohn and Kuklinski, eds, Information and Democratic Processes, pp. 369-88; Delli Carpini and Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters, pp. 62-89 ; and Smith, The Unchanging American Voter, pp. 163-73.
62. See, e.g., Philip E. Converse, 'Popular Representation and the Distribution of Political Information', in Ferejohn and Kuklinski, eds, Information and Democratic Processes, pp. 369-88; Delli Carpini and Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters, pp. 62-89 ; and Smith, The Unchanging American Voter, pp. 163-73.
63. See, e.g., Philip E. Converse, 'Popular Representation and the Distribution of Political Information', in Ferejohn and Kuklinski, eds, Information and Democratic Processes, pp. 369-88; Delli Carpini and Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters, pp. 62-89 ; and Smith, The Unchanging American Voter, pp. 163-73.
64. See, for example, Delli Carpini and Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters, pp. 178-217.
65. See Delli Carpini and Keeter, What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters, pp. 65-82.
66. See Converse with Niemi, 'Non-voting among Young Adults in the United States' and Stephen E. Bennett and Eric M. Rademacher, 'The "Age of Indifference" Revisited: Patterns of Political Interest, Media Exposure and Knowledge among Generation X', in Stephen C. Craig and Stephen E. Bennett, eds, After the Boom: The Politics of Generation X (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997), pp. 21-42. For the important role that prior knowledge has for the acquisition of new information, see Vincent Price and John Zaller, 'Who Gets the News? Alternative Measures of News Reception and Their Implications for Research', Public Opinion Quarterly, 57 (1993), 133-64.
67. See Converse with Niemi, 'Non-voting among Young Adults in the United States' and Stephen E. Bennett and Eric M. Rademacher, 'The "Age of Indifference" Revisited: Patterns of Political Interest, Media Exposure and Knowledge among Generation X', in Stephen C. Craig and Stephen E. Bennett, eds, After the Boom: The Politics of Generation X (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997), pp. 21-42. For the important role that prior knowledge has for the acquisition of new information, see Vincent Price and John Zaller, 'Who Gets the News? Alternative Measures of News Reception and Their Implications for Research', Public Opinion Quarterly, 57 (1993), 133-64.
68. See Converse with Niemi, 'Non-voting among Young Adults in the United States' and Stephen E. Bennett and Eric M. Rademacher, 'The "Age of Indifference" Revisited: Patterns of Political Interest, Media Exposure and Knowledge among Generation X', in Stephen C. Craig and Stephen E. Bennett, eds, After the Boom: The Politics of Generation X (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997), pp. 21-42. For the important role that prior knowledge has for the acquisition of new information, see Vincent Price and John Zaller, 'Who Gets the News? Alternative Measures of News Reception and Their Implications for Research', Public Opinion Quarterly, 57 (1993), 133-64.
69. Parry, Moyser and Day, Political Participation and Democracy in England, p. 40.
70. Robert D. Putnam, 'Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital', Journal of Democracy, 6 (1995), 65-78; and his 'Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America', PS: Political Science and Politics, 28 (1995), 664-83.
71. Robert D. Putnam, 'Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital', Journal of Democracy, 6 (1995), 65-78; and his 'Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America', PS: Political Science and Politics, 28 (1995), 664-83.
72. Pippa Norris, 'Does Television Erode Social Capital? A Reply to Putnam', PS: Political Science and Politics, 29 (1996), 474-80.
73. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, more commonly known as 'Motor Voter', requires states to make voter registration more easily available. States must provide registration by mail and in some government agencies, including motor vehicle licensing and registration offices. As a result, voter registration levels have increased, though turnout levels have not improved.