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ABSTRACT: Recent theories of the state often draw attention to states' autonomy from social preferences. This paper suggests that the phenomenon of public ignorance is the primary mechanism responsible for state autonomy in democratic polities. Such theorists as Skocpol and Poulantzus, who do not take account of public ignorance, either underestimate the state's autonomy or stress causal mechanisms that are necessary but not sufficient conditions for its autonomy. Gramsci's concept of ideological hegemony is promising, even though it is far too insistent on the penetration of ideology of any kind beyond relatively small numbers of political sophisticates.
Until relatively recently, examinations of state activity marginalized the state's autonomy from social interests. Previous structural-functionalist, pluralist, and Marxist theories emphasized "the importance of interest and pressure groups in policy-making" (Almond 1988, 866), and downplayed the state's ability to operate autonomously from these interests.1 However, the 1970s and 8os saw an explosion of interest in the autonomous capabilities of state actors.2 Numerous studies examined a variety of instances where state actions diverged from societal interests. Such studies are most commonly associated with the efforts of Theda Skocpol, et al., to "bring the state back in" to social analysis. However, state autonomy has also been the subject of various neo-Marxist scholars, such as Nicos Poulantzas and Ralph Miliband.
Unfortunately, the existing accounts have not been successful in isolating the variables responsible for state autonomy. Barbara Geddes has commented:
Although several authors have discussed the subject, no one has confirmed empirically the existence of political or social characteristics that allow governments to act autonomously ... As a result, analyses tend to focus more on the policy outcomes themselves rather than on the state structure that is hypothesized to produce the outcome. (Geddes 1994, 5-6.)
This paper attempts to suggest the empirical grounding for state autonomy that has thus far eluded state theory. I argue that certain characteristics of democratic mass publics-specifically those associated with their pervasive political ignorance-provide a powerful explanation for why states often enjoy autonomy from society.3
Isolating the public's political ignorance as the key independent variable for state autonomy provides a distinct departure from most existing state theories. To focus on the dynamics of the public's political knowledge is to recognize that society's primary check upon...