The authors of the textbook argue for a “political specialization view” of the role citizens play in modern democracy. Describe this model. Explain how it compares with other models of citizen participation. What is the major weakness of the model?

What will be an ideal response?

Citizens play different roles, and together, these roles combine to form an election system that has the following attributes: it is reasonably stable, it responds to change of issues and candidates but not too much, and the electorate as a whole cares but not so intensely that any significant portion of the citizenry will challenge the results of an election. The other models are the elitist, pluralist, and participatory. Students should be able to identify each and explain how citizen participation is treated by each one. The major weakness of the political socialization view is that it is biased against the interests of those who are least likely to be activist or pluralist citizens--the young, the poor, the uneducated, and minorities.