A study was undertaken to explore the power structure in a Southwestern community of 93,000 and to determine which elements in that power structure had the most influence in a local school bond referendum. The data for the study were collected using two techniques. First, a panel of knowledgeable community members identified 85 politically…

The paper investigates the qualities which distinguish representative democracies from other forms of government, particularly direct democracies, dictatorships, and oligarchies. Representative democracy is based on the precept that political authority should be located in offices which are specified by a popularly ratified or accepted…

The American Revolution transformed the American colonies into republics, which meant that ordinary people were no longer to be considered "subjects" to be ruled as they were under a monarchy. They were thereafter to be citizens--participants themselves in the ruling process. Because the process of creating of a republican citizenry…