We formalize and test arguments originating with Schattschneider and Burnham about elite control of the governing process in the "system of 1896." To do so, we draw upon classic elite theory and contemporary public policy theory to specify the particular ways elite power might have operated and to deduce a series of hypotheses about such power at various stages in the policy process. Our empirical tests of the resultant propositions-for the controversy over direct democracy reform adoptions in individual American states-offer notable evidence for elite influence over the active agenda status of direct democracy proposals, as well as over the adoption, scope of adoption, and speediness of adoption of such reforms.
Current issues are now on the Chicago Journals website. Read the latest issue. Established in 1939 and published for the Southern Political Science Association, The Journal of Politics is a leading general-interest journal of political science and the oldest regional political science journal in the United States. The scholarship published in The Journal of Politics is theoretically innovative and methodologically diverse, and comprises a blend of the various intellectual approaches that make up the discipline. The Journal of Politics features balanced treatments of research from scholars around the world, in all subfields of political science including American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, and political methodology.
Since its origins in 1890 as one of the three main divisions of the University of Chicago, The University of Chicago Press has embraced as its mission the obligation to disseminate scholarship of the highest standard and to publish serious works that promote education, foster public understanding, and enrich cultural life. Today, the Journals Division publishes more than 70 journals and hardcover serials, in a wide range of academic disciplines, including the social sciences, the humanities, education, the biological and medical sciences, and the physical sciences.
This item is part of JSTOR collection
For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions
The Journal of Politics
© 2002 The University of Chicago Press
Request Permissions
