Political attitudes of women and men

Within the framework of a democratic political system, a central issue for political scientists is electoral behaviour: what determines how people vote. The reasons for concern with this issue are several. The findings of the political scientists may be of use to politicians and political parties, to keep them informed of 'public opinion', to help predict election results, or to provide more direct information as to how to best ensure re-election. Alternatively, the findings may help political scientists and sociologists understand more about the political and social structure of their society. Or they may shed some light on the relationship between democracy on the one hand, and apathy and alienation on the other: why is it that there can be a low level of interest in politics, yet people will still bother to vote? For these reasons and others, political scientists are interested in political behaviour. The concern of many of them - in particular, those whose work is relevant to this thesis - is to discover what the social factors are that influence voting behaviour and political attitudes