Roy Pierce

Policy Representation in Western Democracies offers a comparative analysis of policy representation in five Western Democracies: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the US. A leading group of authors examines the impact of belief systems and geographical and institutional characteristics on the match between the policy preferences of the electorate and those of their representatives. The book offers a variety of perspectives on the conceptualization, measurement, and interpretation of congruence between mass and elite opinion. The book also evaluates the consequences of different electoral systems for policy representation.

By focusing on the central theme of how presidential candidates emerge and how the voters perceive and evaluate them, Choosing the Chief presents a clear and complete picture of how the constitutional frameworks, electoral laws, party systems, social structures, and pivotal historical developments have converged to produce distinctive patterns of presidential politics in both France and the United States." Pierce provides a very sound investigation of a topic that until now has escaped adequate scholarly attention: the French and American presidential selection processes. He presents a well-organized and thorough empirical assessment of the patterns and differences in the ways chief exectives win office in the two nations. . . . The book contains excellent comparative analysis of the processes throughout . . . ." --Choice"[T]his a book from which both Americanists and comparativists have much to learn." --Journal of Politics". . . an exciting effort at genuine comparative analysis." --Frank L. Wilson, Purdue University". . . a significant contribution to the general study of comparative politics and more specifically to our understanding of comparative electoral behavior and participation." --Thomas D. Lancaster, Emory UniversityRoy Pierce is Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Michigan.

There can scarcely be a greater tribute to the vitality of the Fifth Republic's democracy than this monumental work. A searching analysis of how the will of the voters is translated into authoritative political decision making, this book not only uncovers political truths about contemporary France but also provides a model for the study of other popular forms of government. The authors set out to find an answer to the perplexing question of how representative government operates in France in the seemingly unstable context of multiparties. By interviewing voters as well as legislators in 1967 and in 1968 after the great upheaval, and by monitoring policies of the National Assembly from 1967 to 1973, the authors test relationships between public opinion and decision making. They are able to sort out the abiding political cues that orient the French voter, to establish the normal electoral processes, to gauge the nature of mass perceptions of the political options available to voters, and to interpret the strikes, riots, and demonstrations of 1968 as a channel of communication parallel to the electoral process itself. Lucid in style, methodologically sophisticated, and often comparative in approach, "Political Representation in France" is a seminal work for political scientists, sociologists, and historians.