Mass Political Behaviour: Is There More to Learn?

Abstract

Research progress in voting studies and party competition, the mass media, work on social movements, interest groups and collective action, is reviewed for the last decade. Theoretical impetus in applied work seems weak in British studies; sub-fields of research are being pursued in isolation. In electoral studies at least there are signs of over-specialization and loss of valuable interconnections with the mainstream of political science. A number of pathways for improving the state of the art are identified, focusing on a renewal of theoretical input, the correction of some ‘system biases’, greater methodological pluralism and more integration of demand-side and supply-side studies.