Public Attitudes Toward Democratic Processes in the United States

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This research investigates the processes people would like to see in their government. Much handwringing has taken place lately, both in academic and in popular circles, about the public's negativity toward politics. This negativity cannot be understood without investigating attitudes toward how the government goes about its business. The public is less upset with what the government does than with how it does it. This part of the public mood has not been accorded serious attention by those interested in public opinion. This project relies on focus groups and a national survey to tap citizen attitudes toward government processes. This project explores the extent to which people want political institutions to give power back to the people; explains why some people have more of a `populist` bent than others; and ascertains whether people's dissatisfaction with how government operates has consequences in terms of their approval of government, their support for the political system, their tendency to comply with laws produced by the system, and their enthusiasm for various proposals to reform political processes.