Democracy: How Direct? - Views from the Founding Era and the Polling Era

For more than two hundred years Americans have been debating how direct a democracy they want. Many hold that representative government too seldom reflects the people's real views, while others counter that direct popular voting will lead to excesses of passion and deficits of deliberation. In Democracy: How Direct? Elliot Abrams brings together eminent scholars to discuss the issues surrounding the dilemma of a representative versus direct democracy.

List of contents

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 The Founders' Views of Direct Democracy and Representation Chapter 3 James Madison and the Spirit of 1787 Chapter 4 Lincoln's View of Direct Democracy and Public Opinion Chapter 5 Beyond Referendum Democracy: Competing Concepts of Public Opinion Chapter 6 Polling and the Creation of a Virtual Public Chapter 7 Response: Refined and Enlarged Public Opinion Chapter 8 For the People: Direct Democracy in the State Constitutional Tradition Chapter 9 People Power: Initiative and Referendum in the United States Chapter 10 Why Initiatives Are Necessary: Some Tales from California

About the author

Elliott Abrams, former president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, is special assistant to the President and the National Security Council's senior director for democracy, human rights, and international operations.

Product details

• Assisted by: Elliott Abrams (Editor), Abrams Elliott (Editor)
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 15.08.2002
• EAN: 9780742523197
• ISBN: 978-0-7425-2319-7
• Dimensions: 148 mm x 228 mm x 10 mm
• Weight: 231 g
• Series: Ethics and Public Policy Center
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; USA, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Democracy, Political structures: democracy, United States of America, USA, Public Opinion & Polls, Public opinion and polls, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Opinion Polling