ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on political opinion polling in both late-capitalist and post-communist societies. It considers the debate concerning the role of opinion polls as agents of democracy. The book examines three polling contexts: capitalist, communist and post-communist. It explores the emergence of opinion polling, focusing on the relationships with the mass media, political parties, and other client agencies. The book looks at polling in the context of a transforming British political system. It discusses opinion polling in Central and Eastern Europe. The book outlines the tasks and problems posed for pollsters in post-communist societies. It analyses the structural changes which are taking place in these transitional societies, and the impact they are having on political opinion polling. The book describes the fragmentation of societies into new socio-economic groups, electoral volatility, and the general polarisation and atomisation of public opinion.
