Frustrated Majorities : How Issue Intensity Enables Smaller Groups of Voters to Get What They Want

Introduces a theory of issue intensity to help explain political representation, special interest politics, elections, and voter behavior. It explains why politicians sometimes support policies opposed by electoral majorities and why some voters spend time and effort participating in politics while others do not.

Democratic elections do not always deliver what majorities want. Many conclude from frustrated majorities a failure of democracy. This book argues the opposite may be true – that politicians who represent their constituents sometimes frustrate majorities. A theory of issue intensity explains how the intensity with which different voters care about political issues drives key features of elections, political participation, representation, and public policy. Because candidates for office are more certain of winning the votes of those who care intensely, they sometimes side with an intense minority over a less intense majority. Voters who care intensely communicate their intensity by taking political action: volunteering, contributing, and speaking out. From questions like whose voices should matter in a democracy to whose voices actually matter, this rigorous book blends ideas from democratic theory and formal political economy with new empirical evidence to tackle a topic of central importance to American politics.