September 19,
2005
Politically tuned out? Book offers hope
isengaged, dissatisfied, and downright disgusted might be an accurate way to describe the view taken by many Americans regarding the current political system. All hope is not lost, say a group of leading U.S. political scientists, including Richard Niemi, the Don Alonzo Watson Professor of Political Science. Taking a citizen's perspective, the political scientists roll out ways to reverse the tune-out trend in a new book, Democracy at Risk: How Political Choices Undermine Citizen Participation and What We Can Do about It.
"For instance, we suggest that there ought to be alternative ways to create legislative districts rather than have state legislatures do it," says Niemi. "The whole process has been done in a way that leads to very little competition between the political parties, and that, in turn, has negative consequences."
Another change that can increase people's participation in elections is restoring the right to vote for felons who have served their time and completed probation, says Niemi. "That seems to me to be an obvious, correct thing to do. Still, some states make it very difficult for felons to ever vote again. It's one of a number of things that collectively could make a big difference."
For this project, 19 political scientists contributed with the work overseen by Stephen Macedo, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics at Princeton University. The authors conclude: "Careful attention to the design of institutions can produce more inclusive and better informed citizen participation and more responsive and effective government."
Niemi, who contributed to the book's chapter on electoral politics, points out that the collaboration is unique in that political scientists "often take a hands-off approach" when it comes to agendas for reforming political systems.
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