Political Discussion in Modern Democracies: A Comparative Perspective / Edition 1

by Michael R. Wolf, Laura Morales, Ken'ichi Ikeda

Overview

The study of political discussion has been broken into sub-categories including deliberative democracy, discursive studies, dynamics of interpersonal communication, and discussion network analyses, with substantial numbers of books and articles covering each. However, these areas are often treated distinctly and not brought together in a comprehensive and systematic way.

Political Discussion in Modern Democracies: a comparative perspective reviews the breadth of the different literatures on political science and provides original comparative analyses of the nature of political discussion and its consequences on political deliberation and behaviour in numerous advanced industrial democracies worldwide. It is divided into two main sections that provide both a review of the field and context for the chapters that follow:

• Part I studies deliberation and discussion as the object of analysis.

• Part II concentrates on the consequences of political discussion and deliberation.

Covering ten countries across Europe, Asia, and North and South America, this book makes a significant contribution toward broader theories of political communication, deliberative democracy, discussion networks, and political behaviour. It will be of interest to scholars of comparative politics, political communication, political behaviour, governance and democracy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415548458
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/12/2010
Series:	Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael Wolf is Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science, Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne, USA.

Laura Morales is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Change, University of Manchester, UK.

Ken’ichi Ikeda is Professor of Social Research and Political Psychology at the Department of Social Psychology, University of Tokyo, Japan.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Political Discussion in Modern Democracies from a Comparative Perspective Michael R. Wolf and Ken’ichi Ikeda Part 1: Deliberation and Discussion as the Object of Analysis 2. Dissecting Deliberative Democracy: A Review of Theoretical Concepts and Empirical Findings André Bächtiger and Seraina Pedrini 3. The Equality Paradox of Deliberative Democracy: Evidence from a National Deliberative Poll Kasper Møller Hansen 4. What Political Discussion Means and How Do the French and (French-Speaking) Belgians Deal with It? Sophie Duchesne and Florence Haegel 5. Participatory Budgeting, Discussion Networks and Political Information in Two Brazilian Cities Lucio R. Renno and Barry Ames 6. Local Partisan Context and Political Discussion Network Construction: Minority Party Loyalty Under Challenge Michael R. Wolf 7. Voters' Political Conversations During the 2005 German Parliamentary Election Campaign Thorsten Faas and Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck Part 2: The Consequences of Discussion and Deliberation 8. The Consequences of Discussion and Deliberation within Networks: An Introduction Ken’ichi Ikeda and Robert Huckfeldt 9. The Impact of Everyday Political Talk on Involvement, Knowledge and Informed Voting Gabor Toka 10. Patterns of Support for the Welfare State: The Role of Media and Interpersonal Communication in Direct Democratic Votes in Switzerland (1996-2004) Lionel Marquis 11. Social Networks, Voting and Campaign Participation in Japan: The Interpersonal Political Environment and the Autonomous Dimension of Social Networks Ken'ichi Ikeda 12. The Role of Political Discussion in Developing Democracies: Evidence from Hungary Oana Lup 13. Getting a Single Message? The Impact of Homogeneous Political Communication Contexts in Spain in a Comparative Perspective Laura Morales 14. Conclusion: Assessing the Role of Political Discussion in Democratic Politics in Comparative Perspective Ken’ichi Ikeda and Laura Morales