Argues with the standard interpretation of the American voter as incompetent in matters of policy.

In a democracy, we generally assume that voters know the policies they prefer and elect like-minded officials who are responsible for carrying them out. We also

Using decades of public opinion data from the US, UK, Australia, Germany and Canada, and distinguishing between three concepts - issue ownership, performance an

Direct democracy has become an increasingly common feature of European politics with important implications for policy making in the European Union. The no-vote

A searching examination of what citizen competence is, how much it exists in the United States today, and what can be done to increase it.