Mini‐publics and public opinion: two survey‐based experiments
Author
Faculty Advisor
Date
2017
Keywords
deliberation, experiment, public opinion, political trust, political efficacy
Abstract (summary)
In intense forms of public consultations, select groups of citizens, called mini-publics, are given a large amount of information and then asked to deliberate on policy directions and make recommendations. Government officials may refuse to act upon these recommendations, unless they are convinced that the recommendations have wider support in the populace. This article presents the results of two survey-based experiments that assess the impact of mini-publics on the opinions expressed by random digit dialing samples of the general public. The survey-based experiments were conducted in 2013 (n = 400) and in 2014 (n = 400). Being informed about the mini-publics affected support for some policies, but not others. In both studies, respondents who were informed about the mini-publics reported higher levels of political efficacy compared to the condition where respondents were not informed about the mini-public. Hearing about these minipublics helps to generate a sense of legitimacy in the political system.
Publication Information
Boulianne, S. (2017). Mini‐publics and public opinion: two survey‐based experiments. Political Studies. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0032321717723507
Notes
Item Type
Article Post-Print
Language
English
Rights
All Rights Reserved