The study began over a decade ago as a follow-up to Almond and
Verba's The Civic Culture. The original goal was to replicate that study
in some other nations. Over the years the present study has evolved in
a somewhat different direction for several reasons. For one thing, we
decided to build on rather than replicate the earlier study. In this way,
we could take advantage of lessons learned from the earlier work. This
choice involves some loss, since replications are valuable ways of achieving
continuity in research. But the loss is balanced by our ability to move
beyond the previous work. Another source of change in the focus of
the study is its organizational structure. From the beginning, it was
decided that the study ought to be a cooperative one in which research
groups from each of the participating nations would join in research
planning and design. The cooperation would go beyond the design of
the specific instruments to the choice of a general theoretical orientation.
The collaborating groups did join in this process, and the study design
developed in new directions in response to their interest.