Following Their Leaders: Political Preferences and Public Policy Holcombe Randall G.
Following Their Leaders: Political Preferences and Public Policy Holcombe Randall G. Models of democratic decision-making tend to assume that voters have preferences and that candidates adjust their…
Specifikacia Following Their Leaders: Political Preferences and Public Policy Holcombe Randall G.
Following Their Leaders: Political Preferences and Public Policy Holcombe Randall G.
Models of democratic decision-making tend to assume that voters have preferences and that candidates adjust their platforms to conform with those preferences; however, the direction of causation is largely the opposite. Following Their Leaders argues that policies are designed by the elite and the electorate has little say. Political elites offer policy platforms to voters, and voters adopt those policies - they follow their leaders.
Holcombe argues that because citizens adopt the policies offered by the elite, democratic institutions are ineffective constraints on the exercise of political power. Preferences for public policy tend to be anchored in a political identity associated with a candidate, party, or ideology; voters' preferences on most issues are derived from their anchor preferences. This volume explores political institutions that help control the elite who exercise