Educated by Initiative

The Effects of Direct Democracy on Citizens and Political Organizations in the American States

By: Daniel A. Smith, Caroline Tolbert

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Paperback | 13 August 2004

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"This body of research not only passes academic muster but is the best guidepost in existence for activists who are trying to use the ballot initiative process for larger policy and political objectives."
--Kristina Wilfore, Executive Director, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center and Foundation

"Educated by Initiative" moves beyond previous evaluations of public policy to emphasize the educational importance of the initiative process itself. Since a majority of ballots ultimately fail or get overturned by the courts, Smith and Tolbert suggest that the educational consequences of initiative voting may be more important than the outcomes of the ballots themselves. The result is a fascinating and thoroughly-researched book about how direct democracy teaches citizens about politics, voting, civic engagement and the influence of special interests and political parties. Designed to be accessible to anyone interested in the future of American democracy, the book includes boxes (titled "What Matters") that succinctly summarize the authors' data into easily readable analyses.

Daniel A. Smith is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida.

Caroline J. Tolbert is Associate Professor of Political Science at Kent State University.

Industry Reviews

"Smith and Tolbert make a remarkable contribution to the literature on direct democracy, focusing on the educative rather than the instrumental effects of the initiative and referendum. As such, this book highlights the importance of direct democracy, and provides new information as well as an alternative theoretical structure to examine its role in American political life."
--John Allswang, California State University, Los Angeles
"Smith and Tolbert take the claims made by early American advocates of direct democracy and hold them up to the light of rigorous empirical analysis. In so doing, they weave a rich history of the Progressive Era into sophisticated statistical tests that examine how citizens and political organizations respond to opportunities to participate in policy decisions."
--Todd Donovan, Western Washington University
"The citizen initiative feels good to voters, but in Educated by Initiative, Daniel Smith and Caroline Tolbert demonstrate that it's good for our democracy, too."
--Paul Jacobs, President of Citizens in Charge

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