Giving Voice to Ordinary Citizens: Public Opinion Research as Intermediary Between People and Politics

Representative polls have been advocated as neutral, scientifically legitimised instruments to translate citizens’ concerns, needs and wishes into public priorities and political options; but they have also been criticised as tools for politicians to manipulate the population. This chapter looks at these intermediary roles of polls and of more qualitative and interactive public opinion research and how this research has become intertwined with democratic innovations. The consultation practices of the European Union demonstrate the risks of these developments. However, from a civic engagement perspective, checking the representativeness claims of political actors and facilitating public deliberation are still relevant intermediary roles for public opinion research. They might be hard to achieve, but it is worth trying for a more responsive polity and a more reflexive civil society.