In democratic systems, policy decisions are supposed to reflect citizens’ opinions or preferences. The nature of public beliefs is thus a central concern of policy-makers and a focus for political analysis. Yet what are citizen opinions and how are they formed? The democratic ideal sees expressions of public opinion as reflecting citizens’ true preferences and a ‘rational’ processing of information. Yet people’s opinions may not meet these ideals. Instead, individual opinions may be shaped by a range of external influences, and information may be interpreted in a selective and one-sided manner. If so, this raises questions about whether people’s opinions can be manipulated, and suggests the presence of biased beliefs and potentially of misinformation. Public debate in countries like Britain and the US shows many signs of belief manipulation, partisan biases and misinformation. This module is designed to explore why public discourse might suffer from these problems and what might be done to overcome them. In doing so, the module deepens your understanding of the role of citizens in contemporary democratic systems, and enhances their evaluatory and analytical skills.
Lecture 16, Workshop 16
Test. Assessment Details: Short Answer Questions 10 Questions, 100 Words Each worth 30%.
Report. Assessment Details: 3,000 Words Policy Report worth 70%.
Reassessment Method: Like for like
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1) Recognise and explain the requirements on citizens for the effective operation of modern democratic systems.
2) Identify, critically evaluate and make independent judgements upon different models of opinion-formation among individuals, and understand their wider implications for democratic practice and theory.
3) Identify and critically analyse the informational requirements on citizens, and the ways in which any informational deficiencies might be overcome.
4) Identify and critically evaluate different models of citizen information-processing, along with their implications for the role of citizens within the political system.
5) Systematically evaluate the conditions in which individual information-processing might be subject to shortcomings, and to identify practical measures and propose solutions designed to address these.
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