Joanna Marie Everitt
Published: 2002
Total Pages: 472
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The study of political behaviour in Canada has often focused largely on parties and voting; Citizen Politics seeks to expand that definition of political behaviour to encompass behaviouralsim as a method of inquiry, as well as a focus of inquiry which includes; political culture, public opinion, voting and elections, political participation, leaders and activists, and interest groups and social movements. In the past fifteen years since a Canadian political behaviour text was last published, the field has changed immensely, and this collection reflects these changes. Women are examined as independent political actors, the importance of the media to voting and elections is investigated; the uniqueness of immigrant and ethnic minority participation in Canadian politics is discussed, and new social movements are examined. Each section begins with an essay that synthesizes the important research and arguments that inform each subfield. These are followed by two or more essays of original, contemporary research which inform students of critical new approaches and provide examples of how research in the field of political behaviour is conducted. The editors begin the volume with an essay that discusses what political behaviour is, how the study is done, and why it is important as a field of study, and they end the book with an examination of the state of the field in Canada today and an assessment of tomorrow's challenges.