Abstract
In Britain, levels of political trust have declined, stimulating policy makers to explore ways of appealing to discontented citizens. One such initiative involves reform of the political system. Yet, this raises the question of which types of political reform are likely to appeal to discontented citizens. Existing studies have examined how individuals respond to political reforms, yet these studies only consider a limited range of institutional changes. Scholars and policy makers thus know little about the popular appeal of a wider set of institutional reforms. Taking advantage of proposals for political reform in Britain, this article considers public reactions to a wide range of institutional changes. Using data from the 2011 British Social Attitudes survey, we find that direct democratic reforms are not the only changes that appeal to discontented citizens. Instead, policy makers may also appeal to the distrustful via reforms that allow voters more control over their political representatives.
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 263-284 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | British Journal of Politics and International Relations |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 17 Jan 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2018 |
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Keywords
- direct democracy
- institutional reform
- political discontent
- political trust
Cite this
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How might reform of the political system appeal to discontented citizens? / Seyd, Ben; Curtice, John; Rose, Jonathan.
In: British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Vol. 20, No. 2, 01.05.2018, p. 263-284.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - How might reform of the political system appeal to discontented citizens?
AU - Seyd, Ben
AU - Curtice, John
AU - Rose, Jonathan
PY - 2018/5/1
Y1 - 2018/5/1
N2 - In Britain, levels of political trust have declined, stimulating policy makers to explore ways of appealing to discontented citizens. One such initiative involves reform of the political system. Yet, this raises the question of which types of political reform are likely to appeal to discontented citizens. Existing studies have examined how individuals respond to political reforms, yet these studies only consider a limited range of institutional changes. Scholars and policy makers thus know little about the popular appeal of a wider set of institutional reforms. Taking advantage of proposals for political reform in Britain, this article considers public reactions to a wide range of institutional changes. Using data from the 2011 British Social Attitudes survey, we find that direct democratic reforms are not the only changes that appeal to discontented citizens. Instead, policy makers may also appeal to the distrustful via reforms that allow voters more control over their political representatives.
AB - In Britain, levels of political trust have declined, stimulating policy makers to explore ways of appealing to discontented citizens. One such initiative involves reform of the political system. Yet, this raises the question of which types of political reform are likely to appeal to discontented citizens. Existing studies have examined how individuals respond to political reforms, yet these studies only consider a limited range of institutional changes. Scholars and policy makers thus know little about the popular appeal of a wider set of institutional reforms. Taking advantage of proposals for political reform in Britain, this article considers public reactions to a wide range of institutional changes. Using data from the 2011 British Social Attitudes survey, we find that direct democratic reforms are not the only changes that appeal to discontented citizens. Instead, policy makers may also appeal to the distrustful via reforms that allow voters more control over their political representatives.
KW - direct democracy
KW - institutional reform
KW - political discontent
KW - political trust
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045430998&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1369148117736189
DO - 10.1177/1369148117736189
M3 - Article
VL - 20
SP - 263
EP - 284
JO - British Journal of Politics and International Relations
T2 - British Journal of Politics and International Relations
JF - British Journal of Politics and International Relations
SN - 1369-1481
IS - 2
ER -