Abstract
In recent years, political scientists have begun to pay greater attention to political institutions and questions of institutional change. This article addresses a question that has been relatively ignored in the literature: What shapes mass opinion toward institutional and constitutional change? We develop two broad kinds of explanations of how voters see institutions. One is grounded in a conception of voters as self-interested actors, and the other considers a more ideological and psychological approach. We find empirical evidence consistent with both arguments. Using a broad categorization developed by Tsebelis (1990), we find that part of the answer to how voters see institutions lies in the kinds of institutions voters are being asked about: Different institutions prompt very different responses from different types of voters.
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Wenzel, J.P., Bowler, S. & Lanoue, D.J. Citizen Opinion and Constitutional Choices: The Case of the UK. Political Behavior 22, 241–265 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026614314233
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026614314233