The related subjects of political legitimacy and system support are key theoretical concerns of students of democratic societies. They have received very little scholarly attention, however, because of the conceptual and methodological complexities they engender. In this book, the authors address these concerns through systematic multivariate analyses of the sources, distribution and consequences of variations in citizen support for key political objects in one such society, Canada. Although they do so within a comparative context, their primary focus is on Canada because it is not only one of the world's oldest democracies, but is a country that has experienced support problems that periodically have reached crisis proportions. Many of the problems facing Canada are extreme examples of difficulties that have vexed other democracies and this study helps illuminate both the conditions under which democracies in general are able to sustain themselves and those under which they could flounder. The authors demonstrate that political support has its origins in people's political socialization experiences and their judgments about the operation of key political and economic institutions and processes. They find that political support is not "of a piece" and that average citizens are able to distinguish among and ascribe different degrees of support to key political objects such as Parliament, the bureaucracy, the judiciary, parties, the system of federalism, and the national political community itself.

Citizens and Community: Political Support in a Representative Democracy (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics)

Politics & Social Sciences

Clarke, Harold D.

Kornberg, Allan

Politics & Government

Cambridge University Press

The related subjects of political legitimacy and system support are key theoretical concerns of students of democratic societies. They have received very little scholarly attention, however, because of the conceptual and methodological complexities they engender. In this book, the authors address these concerns through systematic multivariate analyses of the sources, distribution and consequences of variations in citizen support for key political objects in one such society, Canada. Although they do so within a comparative context, their primary focus is on Canada because it is not only one of the world's oldest democracies, but is a country that has experienced support problems that periodically have reached crisis proportions. Many of the problems facing Canada are extreme examples of difficulties that have vexed other democracies and this study helps illuminate both the conditions under which democracies in general are able to sustain themselves and those under which they could flounder. The authors demonstrate that political support has its origins in people's political socialization experiences and their judgments about the operation of key political and economic institutions and processes. They find that political support is not "of a piece" and that average citizens are able to distinguish among and ascribe different degrees of support to key political objects such as Parliament, the bureaucracy, the judiciary, parties, the system of federalism, and the national political community itself.

Social Sciences

Influence in Parliament, Canada (Publications of the Consortium for Comparative Legislative Studies)

Duke University Press

Winner: 2001 Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award
 This is a book about forces challenging the continued integrity of Canada, one of the world's oldest and most admired democracies. It focuses on six critical events, beginning with the 1988 federal election and the fierce debate over the risks of free trade with the United States for Canada's economy and cherished social programs. It ends with the 1998 re-election of the Parti Québécois and the possibility of a third sovereignty referendum. Collectively, these events have pushed Canada to the edge of disintegration. The book's analyses and interpretations of these events are based on a unique collection of survey data gathered over the past two decades. Conversations with thousands of Canadians map the dynamics of public beliefs, attitudes and behavior in an era of economic dislocation and political crisis. Struggling to adapt its political institutions and processes to regional and ethno-linguistic cleavages invigorated by forces of economic restructuring and globalization, Canada exemplifies many of the "forces from above and below" that have beset democracies, new and old alike, in recent years. By explaining how these forces have brought a "charter member" of that very special political club to the brink of fragmentation, this book will be of interest to all those concerned with the future of democracy in polycommunal societies.

A Polity on the Edge: Canada and the Politics of Fragmentation

History

Wearing, Peter

Americas

University of Toronto Press

Recent national elections in Canada and the United States have been exciting, consequential contests. In 2006, the Conservative Party of Canada won a fragile victory, replacing a scandal-ridden Liberal government. In the prior 2004 federal election, the Liberals had narrowly clung to power after a volatile and bitter battle with the new Conservative Party. In the 2000 American presidential election, Republican candidate George W. Bush became the first candidate in over 100 years to capture the presidency without a majority popular vote. In 2004, Bush finally attained a narrow popular mandate, but only after a hard fought campaign. Then, in 2006, the Republicans suffered a stunning reversal of political fortune, losing control of both Houses of Congress, as public opinion turned massively against the President.    In Making Political Choices: Canada and the United States, Harold Clarke, Allan Kornberg, and Thomas Scotto employ a wealth of new survey data to describe these elections and evaluate competing theories of party support and voter turnout. While examining various arguments about forces affecting political participation and party support, the authors contend that a valence politics model provides a powerful explanation of voting behaviour in Canada, the United States, and other mature democracies.    Harold D. Clarke is the Ashbel Smith Professor of Political Science, University of Texas at Dallas, and Adjunct Professor of Government at the University of Essex. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including A Polity on the Edge: Canada and the Politics of Fragmentation with Allan Kornberg and Peter Wearing (Broadview, 2000) and Political Choice in Britain with David Sanders, Marianne C. Stewart, and Paul Whiteley (Oxford University Press, 2004). Allan Kornberg is the Norb F. Schaefer Professor of Political Science at Duke University. He is the author of Citizens and Community: Political Support in a Representative Democracy with Harold Clarke (Cambridge University Press, 1992) and has written widely in books and journals on political parties, legislatures, and comparative political behaviour.    Thomas J. Scotto is Lecturer in the Department of Government at the University of Essex. His research interests are in American and Canadian electoral behaviour and public opinion and he has published articles in journals such as Electoral Studies and the Journal of Politics.

Making Political Choices: Canada and the United States

Scotto, Thomas J.

Univ of Toronto Pr Higher education

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