ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with politics variables most commonly used in survey research. It discusses certain 'politics' variables, especially 'party affiliation', sometimes figure as 'face sheet' or background variables, a majority of the variables likely to be of greater significance to the researcher with a more specific interest in politics. As an alternative to orthodox models, the Critical Theory of Habermas is especially of interest in the context of the present chapter given its attempted synthesis of aspects of structural-functional and neo-Marxian traditions. The chapter explores an alternative to orthodox models, the Critical Theory of J. Habermas and given its attempted synthesis of aspects of structural-functional and neo-Marxian traditions. Theoretical perspectives such as these, alongside more orthodox theories, must today provide the framework in which politics variables receive their formulation and interpretation. Like 'voting intention', 'recalled vote' is easily employed and can be regarded as a broadly valid and reliable operational variable when used with reference to an immediately previous election.
