대의민주주의와 소통 = 미국 오바마 행정부 하의 의료보험개혁 사례를 중심으로

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study discusses the reality and limitations of political communication under the representative democracy by exploring the case of U.S. healthcare reform in 2009-2010 and tries to suggest the elements for a better democracy in terms of communication. As healthcare reform was the issue showing the sharp ideological cleavage in American society, Obama and the Democratic Party had to continue to change their reform proposal to compromise between the opinions of the conservatives and their traditional supporters who are progressive. During this process, they experienced to lose the initiative in public opinion to the opponents and finally lost the midterm elections. This case implies that policy decision making process in a democracy requires policy makers to secure the communication mechanism through which accurate information regarding the new policy can be delivered to the public. And it also suggests the need for framing the policy actively.