Readership: Scholars and students of politics, especially those with an interest in comparative politics, political behaviour, political parties, democracy studies, and electoral studies
Michael D. McDonald, Associate Professor of Political Science, Binghamton University, and Ian Budge, Professor of Government, University of Essex
Part 1: The Mandate Process 1: Choosing Governments or Identifying Preferences? The Role of Elections in Democracy 2: Mandate Theories: Government and Median 3: Communicating Preferences: The Public Policy Space 4: Research Questions for Comparative Investigation Part 2: The Electoral Process 5: Choices Parties Offer 6: Mandates Without Obvious Majorities 7: Representing the Meidan Voter Part 3: The Governing Process 8: Who Controls Short-Term Policy Making? 9: From Declared to Actual Policy: Short-Term Influences on Government Policies Part 4: The Democratic Process 10: Long Term Policy Regimes: Incrementalism Put in Context 11: Fluctuating Political Forces 12: Politics and Policy Regimes: Setting a Long Term Equilibrium 13: Unifying Theories of Democracy Through the Median Mandate
