The research project will be conducted at the Centre for Advanced Study at The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in the academic year 1997-98. Abstract of proposed research.
Public opinion constitutes one of the cornerstones of democracy.
Citizens are assumed to hold preferences for particular polices, know where parties and candidates for offices are located on the relevant policy dimensions, and cast their votes accordingly. Similarly, governments, and other political elites, are assumed to observe citizens' stand on the issues of the day and make their policy decisions in line with the view of the public. The flow of public opinion from mass to elite forms a vital part of the working of democracy. However, a major strand of empirical research in political science and political psychology has long attempted to falsify this image of democratic opinion. Led by Philip E. Converse, a large group of scholars contend that citizens in general do not care much for politics, do not have political knowledge to make informed choices, and do not hold consistent opinions over connected issues or over issues across time.