Increasingly, research suggests that public opinion does have a significant impact on policy. Likewise, public opinion determines who will actually govern. However, representation is not an easy concept to define clearly and completely, and often it's not easy to determine whether your legislators are actually representing you. Political scientists find it quite difficult to simplify and discuss the goals, incentives, and objectives of all of the relevant policyshapers and policymakers. We also often disagree about the relative impact of different types of policymakers and policyshapers on public policy.
Some theories suggest that certain policymakers are more important than others.
In any case, it's important to understand that, even if we have a common terminology for the roles people play in a policymaking system, we may have very different perceptions about how, when, and why people interact within the system. Be aware of the differences between models as you read and evaluate the models of politics and governance presented in Dye. Lesson Three Review Exercises Complete the following self-help exercises. Write your answers to the questions on your own paper. When you have completed the review, check your answers using the key provided in the Appendix.