Elections and the Mobilization of Popular Support

Abstract

While elections are normally seen as means by which citizens influence leaders, elections can also be viewed as mechanisms which serve to increase elite control over citizens. The opportunity for citizens to participate in leadership selection may also be an opportunity for leaders to coopt citizens by implicating them in the government's creation. This possibility is tested with data from the 1968 and 1972 American presidential elections by comparing citizens' preand post-election attitudes toward the regime, leaders, and policy. The elections' largest impact appeared to occur in attitudes toward the regime. Changes in citizen response are discussed in terms of three mechanisms of attitude change, each of which has different implications for leaders and the regime.