The study of political discussion has been broken into sub-categories including deliberative democracy, discursive studies, dynamics of interpersonal communication, and discussion network analyses, with substantial numbers of books and articles covering each. However, these areas are often treated distinctly and not brought together in a comprehensive and systematic way. Political Discussion in Modern Democracies: a comparative perspective reviews the breadth of the different literatures on political science and provides original comparative analyses of the nature of political discussion and its consequences on political deliberation and behaviour in numerous advanced industrial democracies worldwide. It is divided into two main sections that provide both a review of the field and context for the chapters that follow: Part I studies deliberation and discussion as the object of analysis. Part II concentrates on the consequences of political discussion and deliberation. Covering ten countries across Europe, Asia, and North and South America, this book makes a significant contribution toward broader theories of political communication, deliberative democracy, discussion networks, and political behaviour. It will be of interest to scholars of comparative politics, political communication, political behaviour, governance and democracy.

The study of political discussion has been broken into sub-categories including deliberative democracy, discursive studies, dynamics of interpersonal communication, and discussion network analyses, with substantial numbers of books and articles covering each. However, these areas are often treated distinctly and not brought together in a comprehensive and systematic way.

Political Discussion in Modern Democracies: a comparative perspective reviews the breadth of the different literatures on political science and provides original comparative analyses of the nature of political discussion and its consequences on political deliberation and behaviour in numerous advanced industrial democracies worldwide. It is divided into two main sections that provide both a review of the field and context for the chapters that follow:

• Part I studies deliberation and discussion as the object of analysis.

• Part II concentrates on the consequences of political discussion and deliberation.

Covering ten countries across Europe, Asia, and North and South America, this book makes a significant contribution toward broader theories of political communication, deliberative democracy, discussion networks, and political behaviour. It will be of interest to scholars of comparative politics, political communication, political behaviour, governance and democracy.

Political organizations and clubs structure contemporary politics. From political parties to environmental organizations, citizens join a host of associations to influence policymaking and the political agenda. Yet why do citizens in some western democracies join political organizations much more than in others? Laura Morales explains that there are three types of participatory patterns: a North American model, with extensive membership levels and a reasonably high level of activism within organizations; a northern, or Protestant, European pattern, that combines extensive membership levels and fundamentally passive involvement; and a south European model, where low levels of membership are compensated by intense activism. Drawing on a large number of crossnational surveys and datasets, Morales shows that huge crossnational variations in political membership are not so much related to social or attitudinal differences between these countries' citizens but are explained to a great extent by the structure of the political system of each nation.