Most would agree that American democracy thrives when citizens are informed and responsive. So how best to teach today’s students not only how government works, but also why it works—and maybe, more importantly, why it doesn’t always work?
Hudson provides the perfect supplement for those who want to elicit a more critical look at the functioning of our political system. He outlines eight major challenges facing America as a new president takes office, ranging from the strength of the judiciary to the trade-offs between national security and personal privacy. Challenging students to respond robustly to these challenges, he also offers possible solutions to each. The end result is to provide a sound conceptual framework for evaluating the American political system—one that stimulates analytical thinking and discussion.
Timely updates examine elections and voting—specifically primaries and how they work, “machine” politics, and voting restrictions— and the national security state, with a focus on the Bush administration’s expansion of presidential power, as well as questions of spreading democracy abroad and the rationale for international intervention.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Models of Democracy
Precursors to Modern Democratic Theory
Protective Democracy
Developmental Democracy
Pluralist Democracy
Participatory Democracy
The Models Compared
Suggestions for Further Reading
1. The First Challenge: Separation of Powers
The Founders’ Work
The Jeffersonian Model
The Separation of Powers and Democratic Values
The Parliamentary Alternative
Meeting the Challenge: Bridging the Separation of Powers
2. The Second Challenge: The Imperial Judiciary
The Least Democratic Branch
A Brief History of Judicial Review
Two Cases of Judicial Usurpation
Can Judicial Review Be Made Consistent with Democracy?
The Judicialization of American Politics as a Challenge to Democracy
Meeting the Challenge: Revitalize American Democracy
Thought Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
Selected Web Sites
3. The Third Challenge: Radical Individualism
Individualism in the American Tradition
American “Habits of the Heart”
The Flaws of Libertarianism
Our Pathological Politics of Rights and Interests
The Failed Opportunity to Build Community after 9/11
Meeting the Challenge: Balance Rights with Responsibilities
Thought Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
Selected Web Sites
4. The Fourth Challenge: Citizen Participation
Citizen Participation and Democratic Theory
Citizen Political Participation
Signs of Civic Disengagement
The New Citizen Activism
Participation as a Challenge to Democracy
Meeting the Challenge: More Participation, Not Less
Thought Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
Selected Web Sites
5. The Fifth Challenge: Trivialized Elections
Equal Representation
Deliberation
Control
Meeting the Challenge: Reform Electoral Institutions, Promote Democratic Deliberation
Thought Questions
Suggestions for further Reading
Selected Web Sites
6. The Sixth Challenge: The “Privileged Position” of Business
American Politics as Pluralist Heaven
Business: The Privileged Group
Why Business Privilege Is a Threat to Democracy
Objections to the Privileged-Position-of-Business Thesis
Meeting the Challenge: Democratic Action to Reduce Business Privilege
Thought Questions
Suggestions for further Reading
Selected Web Sites
7. The Seventh Challenge: Inequality
Equality and Democratic Theory
The End of the American Dream?
The Persistence of Racial Inequality
Economic Inequality’s Challenge to Democracy
Meeting the Challenge: Policies to Promote Equality
Thought Questions
Suggestions for further Reading
Selected Web Sites
8. The Eighth Challenge: The National Security State
The Burgeoning of the National Security State
Secrecy
Centralization
Repression
Distortion
Meeting the Challenge: Reform to Achieve True Security
Thought Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
Selected Web Sites
Testimonials
“I use American Democracy in Peril as a supplement in my American politics graduate seminar. Individual chapters are gems and complement the standard set of topics contained in an introductory American politics course. The book is a rich compilation of political theory and political science research that students should know, and a well-crafted examination of specific threats to democracy. While Hudson’s perspective is seldom in doubt, he does present counter-arguments, which taken together effectively stimulate reflection and discussion about the contemporary condition of American democracy.”
- Clyde Brown, Miami University"Hudson's book provides a comprehensive and eye-opening introduction for introductory students to the contradictions and dysfunctions of American democracy, from trivialized elections to corporate privilege and declining civic engagement ... and provides a challenging and helpful set of roadmaps out of our currently challenging territory."
- Justin Vaughn, Cleveland State University
Bio(s)
William E. Hudson, Providence College
William E. Hudson is professor of political science at Providence College. He is the author of The Libertarian Illusion and Experiencing Citizenship: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Political Science (with Richard Battistoni). Hudson has published numerous articles on public policy issues in journals such as Political Science Quarterly, Polity, Western Political Quarterly, Economic Development Quarterly, and Policy Studies Journal.
