Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the study of the political attitudes and behavior of citizens in an election of democratic politics. People approach to integrating social contexts into the study of voting behavior stems from the early contributions of Paul Lazarsfeld and his colleagues at Columbia University whom they consider to be the intellectual forefathers of the Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP). The CNEP research program provides unparalleled opportunities to paint a somewhat more complex picture, incorporating historical contingency, different paths of political development and the role of political agency. The CNEP surveys, of Germany and Japan, did not contain enough of the variables analyzed to be retained as country cases. Gunther, Montero and Torcal argue that 'the strategies and behavior of prominent political elites and organizations during particularly salient stages in the democratization process' played important roles in the adult political socialization.