Voice-mail: 257-7033
Email: mpeffl@uky.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The subject
matter of this course is the role of public opinion in democratic
polities. All governments, from the most
dictatorial to the most democratic, find it valuable to secure the support of
the general public. Even dictatorial regimes find it difficult to prosper
without the support--or at least the acquiescence--of their citizens. But the
role of the public is even more important in democratic systems, where the
public is expected to play a much more prominent role. The expectations, in fact, are high: interested, informed and thoughtful citizens
are presumed to play a pivotal role in determining the content and direction of
public policy and elite decision-making.
Whether this claim is true or whether, more often than not, elites are
able to manipulate public opinion are questions that we will consider
throughout the course.
Our study of public opinion will be quite broad, seeking
to trace the origins of political
attitudes in the mass media, political events, and elite manipulation, as well
as the political impact of public
opinion on political representation and elite decision-making. There are many interesting questions awaiting
us this semester. Among them are the
following: How and to what degree can or
should the populace play a role in determining public policy and political
authority? How do events and crises
influence the formation and change of public opinion? To what extent are mass political attitudes
manipulated by the mass media and politicians?
How does public opinion influence political behavior and, ultimately, public
policy?
Keep in mind that "public opinion" is a hotly
contested concept in democracies. Politicians
and interest groups on opposite sides of the ideological fence claim that
the "public" supports their policies and to oppose them is anti-democratic.
Witness, for example, the claims of Republicans and
Democrats in Congress that the public favors their proposals to deal with
terrorism, the economy and foreign policy. Such claims and counter-claims
about what "the public" really desires raise a number of loaded
questions: Who
is the public? How sophisticated is it? Does it truly want contradictory policies?
Is it too stupid to see that one policy negates the other?
How susceptible
are such opinions to leadership and manipulation? Does the public have fixed,
informed opinions or just "fuzzy attitudes" that can be easily manipulated
by politicians and their political consultants? Are there reliable methods for assessing where
the public really stands or is "public opinion" just another political
fiction used for propaganda purposes? Clearly, using the term, “public opinion”
is highly controversial in American politics.