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Too Much of a Good Thing: More Representative is Not Necessarily Better

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

John R. Hibbing
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska
Elizabeth Theiss-Morse
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska

Extract

Reform sentiments are much in evidence on the American political scene as we approach the end of the century, and improving the way public opinion is represented in political institutions is often the major motivation of reformers. This is clear from the essays in this collection, from the activities of contemporary political elites, and from the mood of ordinary people. Gross dissatisfaction exists with the nature of representation perceived to be offered by the modern political system.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The American Political Science Association 1998

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Footnotes

John R. Hibbing and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse are, respectively, professor and associate professor of political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Their book, Congress as Public Enemy, won the 1996 Fenno Prize for the best book on legislatures, and they are currently at work on a book-length treatment of the larger topic of why Americans are so dissatisfied with their political system.

*

The findings described are based on research supported by the National Science Foundation under grants SES-91–22733 and SBR-97–09934.

References

Hibbing, John R., and Theiss-Morse, Elizabeth. 1995. Congress as Public Enemy: Public Attitudes Toward American Political Institutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar