Citizens, Politics and Social Communication: Information and Influence in an Election Campaign

Description

This book is dedicated to investigating the political implications of interdependent citizens within the context of the 1984 presidential election campaign as it was experienced in the metropolitan area of South Bend, Indiana. National politics is experienced locally through a series of filters unique to a particular setting. Several different themes are explored: the dynamic implications of social communication among citizens, the importance of communication networks for citizen decision-making, the exercise of citizen purpose in locating sources of information, the constraints on individual choice, and institutional and organizational effects.

"You want to read this book if you want to explore the fundamental tension in politics between life experienced as an individual and life experienced as a collectivity. You will want to understand the theoretical insights offered here. And you will want to understand the intellectual agenda that Huckfeldt and Sprague have pushed forward." Journal of Politics "This is an extraordinarily powerful book...This volume displays powerful and novel insights into American politics." American Political Science Review "With this book, the authors have presented an impressive study of social communication and its influence on political practice." Political Science Quarterly