Markus Prior is Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. He is author of Post-Broadcast Democracy (Cambridge, 2007), which won the 2009 Goldsmith Book Prize and the 2010 Doris Graber Award for the 'best book on political communication in the last 10 years'. Prior's work has appeared in multiple journals including American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, and the Journal of Politics.

Klappentext

Political interest is the strongest predictor of 'good citizenship', yet little is known about it. This book explains why some people find politics interesting while others don't.

Zusammenfassung
A must-read book for anyone wanting to understand one of the most important concepts in how ordinary people approach politics - whether or not they find politics interesting. Ideal reading for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers in both American and comparative politics, political psychology and public opinion.

Inhalt

Why political interest matters and how to understand its origins; Part I. Describing Political Interest: 2. The psychology of political interest 3. Measuring political interest; 4. The impact of elections; 5. Sixty years of political interest; Part II. The Development of Political Interest: 6. Political interest over the life course: the population average; 7. Stability and variation in political interest; 8. Differences in age trajectories; Part III. Explaining Change in Political Interest: 9. The big benefits of panel data analysis; 10. Education; 11. Parents; 12. Money, health, and happiness; 13. Encounters with politics; 14. The impact of political attitudes and identities; 15. Conclusion; Data appendix; Index.