Images of Voting/Visions of Democracy - 9781138525740

Taylor & Francis

Images of Voting/Visions of DemocracyAuthor(s): Peter Natchez\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781138525740, 978-1138525740\nSynopsis\nWhen survey research, statistics, and electronic data processing were first introduced, they held out promise that a new level of political knowledge would be created. Applied to the study of voting behavior, survey research promised an understanding of the factors determining the outcome of an election, that political history could be based on rich and current data, and that we could begin to understand the role of elections in constitutional democracy. The truth as Peter B. Natchez shows, is that despite the opportunity provided by this revolution, voting studies have failed to make significant contributions to democratic theory or political history.\n\nThe findings of voting studies have spread from the universities into the political system with a rather grim message. In its simp.