Christopher H. Achen Books
Achen is a professor of political science at Princeton University, known for his work on political methodology and democratic theory.
Known for: Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government
Books by Christopher H. Achen
Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government
Democracy for Realists challenges the classical ideal of democracy as a system in which ordinary citizens make policy decisions based on reasoned understanding of issues. Achen and Bartels argue that voters are largely driven by social identities and partisan loyalties rather than by policy preferences or factual knowledge. Drawing on decades of empirical research, the book contends that democratic theory must be grounded in realistic models of human behavior, emphasizing group attachments and retrospective evaluations over rational choice.
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Critique of the Folk Theory
The folk theory of democracy has long been the foundation of modern democratic thought. It assumes that voters hold coherent preferences, informed by knowledge and guided by consideration of the common good. Citizens, according to this view, deliberate, debate, and choose wisely among competing poli...
From Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government
Empirical Evidence Against Rational Voter Models
Political scientists have spent decades collecting evidence about voter behavior, and the findings are unequivocal: people know surprisingly little about how their government works. Most cannot identify their representatives, describe major policy proposals, or even accurately report which party con...
From Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government
About Christopher H. Achen
Achen is a professor of political science at Princeton University, known for his work on political methodology and democratic theory.
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Achen is a professor of political science at Princeton University, known for his work on political methodology and democratic theory.
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