Overview

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

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9780813532981

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Gerald M. Pomper, Board of Governors Professor of Political Science at Rutgers, emeritus, is the former director of the Walt Whitman Center. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including The Political State of New Jersey (Rutgers), The Election of 2000: Reports and Interpretations, and Passions and Interests: Political Party Concepts of American Democracy. Marc D. Weiner is the assistant director of the Princeton University Survey Research Center. Contributors are drawn from major universities throughout the nation, including Chicago, California, Harvard, Northeastern, Pennsylvania, and Rutgers.

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