Milton Heumann

Nancy J. Hirschmann

John Hansen

Alan Rosenthal

William Crotty

Elizabeth Garrett

Jane Junn

Gerald Pomper

Jennifer Hochschild

Wilson McWilliams

Gordon Schochet

Nelson Polsby

Daniel Tichenor

Even before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, political scientists were assessing changes and continuities in the principles and practices of American democracy. Recent events, including the passage of the U.S. Patriot Act and the current debates about civil liberties versus homeland security, intensify the need to examine the long-term viability of democracy. In this book, fifteen major scholars assess the current state of American democracy, offering a spirited dialogue on the future of democratic politics. Contributors focus on three principles fundamental to democracy—equality, liberty, and participation. They examine these principles within the context of the basic institutions of American democracy: Congress and the state legislatures, the president, political parties, interest groups, and the Supreme Court. They raise questions regarding the checks and balances among formal governmental institutions (with the contributors sharing concern over the fading power of the legislature and the increased power of the executive and judiciary) as well as the role of political parties and interest groups. Topics discussed include: the incomplete mobilization of the electorate, the debates over campaign finance reform and term limits, the Supreme Court’s activist role in the Florida recount, the dangers of teledemocracy and state initiatives, the separation of political participation from residential location, “identity politics,” the clash of "negative" and "positive" liberty, and the prospects for personal freedom in an era of terrorist threats. This timely collection covers the issues relevant to the future of American democracy today not only for lawmakers, students, and historians, but for any concerned citizen.

Principles and Practices

The Future of American Democratic Politics

William J. Crotty

This timely collection of original essays examines the global link between democratic development and political terrorism, delving into the difficult questions, challenges, far-reaching consequences, and uncertainties of dealing with terrorism on an international scale.

The Global Perspective

Democratic Development & Political Terrorism

The Presidential Election of 2020: Donald Trump and the Crisis of Democracy analyzes the election in the context of the Trump presidency, his self-aggrandizing behavior and the threat he posed to the continuation of democracy in America. Trump’s behavior leading up to the election and in the transition period that followed, and his and others’ continuing efforts to introduce an authoritarian governing system represents the nation’s number one challenge.

Donald Trump and the Crisis of Democracy

The Presidential Election of 2020

William Crotty

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