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Policy Making And Civic Involvement: Apathy Or Impotence?, Chris Gregory Kuchuris

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This thesis discusses the current problems surrounding civic participation. Conventional political wisdom tells us that many people have become apathetic when it comes to getting involved in politics. However, I will argue that policy makers misconstrue their perception of the public because they are operating from paradigms which are not democratic. When policy makers operate from these faulty paradigms, the role of the public becomes subordinated and the public is effectively "locked out" of the political decision-making process. I will offer an alternative to the current paradigms in an attempt to restore the proper role of the citizens to public …