READER B
Critical Citizens Revisited
Pippa Norris
General Assessment
•Is there a need for a book on this subject at the proposed level?
Yes, there is a need! What democracy means in the 21st century in developing and developed countries, and what it should and can mean, are important questions in a world where democracy, in Winston Churchill's words, "is the worst form of government except all those other forms." The Norris book tackles these questions head-on and discusses them in light of a very large and diverse body of literature.
•Can the material be covered adequately in the proposed length?
Yes, it can. Dr. Norris promises to cover all salient points. She is an experienced author who can be expected to make the right trade offs between the need to probe a particular issue in depth and the tolerance of modern audiences for complex discussions.
•Are you able to comment about the standing of the author(s) or editor(s)?
Dr. Norris is a highly-respected political communication scholar. Her affiliations with major universities in the United States and abroad and her service in leadership positions at the United Nations and in major professional organizations are testimony to the prestige that she has earned. All of her books and articles have been well-received by the academic community.
•Do you know of any competing books?
No. The central questions about contemporary democratic governance that Dr. Norris raises have engaged many scholars who have produced numerous books and scholarly articles. But none approach these questions from the interesting comprehensive perspective that Dr. Norris has chosen to integrate a variety of disparate views.
Assessment of Enclosed Material
•Is the material presented in a logical manner?
The presentation is very systematic and logical and includes tests of rival hypotheses about the factors underlying support of government. The study begins with a diagnosis of the roots of citizens' critical attitudes. It proceeds with an analysis of the particular circumstances that stimulate citizen complaints. And it concludes with a discussion of the impact of the critical-citizen phenomenon and the practical and theoretical implications. Throughout, Norris' approach is holistic and comparative, taking the interplay among a multiplicity of factors into account. My only concern is that the study may turn out to be overly complex, trying to do more than can possibly be achieved while still presenting a clear picture.
•Can anything be removed without loss of coherence?
The overall 3-part structure of the discussion is essential. Proposals for cutting materials will have to wait till the full chapters are in hand. However, to keep the story line clear in the face of mountains of data, it would be wise to be very rigorous when relegating dispensable data to an appendix at the end of the chapter, the end of the book, or even on-line.
•Should anything be added to strengthen the book?
Proposals for adding materials will have to wait till the full chapters are in hand.
However, I suggest changing the title of the book. The term 'revisited' implies that this is a second round of a prior project, rather than the fresh, original study that Dr. Norris has prepared. The earlier volume deserves to be acknowledged and used as a point of departure but, even though the basic outline is quite similar, the content of the two books will be vastly different. Aside from the fact that the previous data base has become outdated by the passage of a full decade, only the opening and closing chapters in the earlier volume represent Dr. Norris' work. Eleven chapters were written by other authors. The new book, written entirely by Dr. Norris, as she notes, will be "using a broader range of evidence, covering many more nations, and more sophisticated techniques of multilevel analysis."
•Do you agree with the choice, weighting, and order of topics?
I cannot answer this question without seeing the completed chapters. My guess is that all will be acceptable.
•Is the treatment authoritative, technically accurate, and up to date?
Based on the high quality of the author's previous publications and her extensive experience in working with surveys and analyzing complex data, the treatment promises to be authoritative and accurate and as up-to-date as the available datasets will allow.
•Is the material sufficiently illustrated with appropriate and clarifying examples?
The paired comparisons that tell the stories of selected countries in some detail hold promise for clarifying the issues and bringing the data to life.
•Is the writing clear and concise?
Dr. Norris is an excellent writer. Her prose is generally crisp and easy to understand even for non-English speakers.
Taking your suggestions into account, would you recommend publication of this work?
I recommend publication. I agree with the author that there is a world-wide audience for this study in universities at the graduate level and among scholars and journalists. I think that in addition to audiences in the United Statesand Europe, there will be sizeable numbers of interested readers in India, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. I doubt that there will be a significant undergraduate student clientele.
Any additional comments you wish to make are welcome. Your review is confidential to the Press. It may be passed, in whole or in part, to the author without revealing your identity.
You have published so many of the Norris books already. If they have worked out for you, this should be a sure bet.
Please be assured that if we offer the author a contract the manuscript will have to be approved by a reader for the Press.
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