Contents

Preface ix 1 Democracy Defi ned What Is American Democracy? 3 20 Common Forms of Government—Study Starters 9 David A. Tomar, The Quad, February 25, 2019 What Exactly is Neoliberalism? 20 Kean Birch, The Conversation, November 2, 2017 Democracy’s Midlife Crisis: An Interview with David Runciman 24 David Runciman, Danielle Charette, and Jacob Hamburger, Tocqueville 21, February 19, 2019 History and Democracy 32 Sean Wilentz, Harvard Magazine, September-October 2006 Is the United States of America a Republic or a Democracy? 38 Eugene Volokh, The Washington Post, May 15, 2015 Are We Witnessing the Death of Liberal Democracy 41 Ian McKay, The Conversation, May 16, 2019 2 Democracy in Context Democratic Identity and Economy 47 The Rise of Authoritarian Capitalism 51 Kevin Rudd, The New York Times, September 16, 2018 Big Fail: The Internet Hasn’t Helped Democracy 54 Robert Diab, The Conversation, October 15, 2018 American Democracy Is Ailing: Thinking Like an Economist Can Help 57 Gary Saul Morson and Morton Schapiro, The Washington Post, April 10, 2019 Is Essential to Democracy 60 William Dunkelberg, Forbes, June 6, 2018 E Pluribus Unum? The Fight Over Identity Politics 62 Stacey Y. Abrams; John Sides, Michael Tesler, and Lynn Vavreck; Jennifer A. Richeson; and Francis Fukuyama, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2019

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3 Democracy or Dictatorship? Democratic Authoritarianism 77 American Democracy Is in Crisis, and Not Just Because of Trump 81 Simon Tisdall, The Guardian, August 7, 2018 American Democracy Has Gone Through Dark Times Before 85 Robert Dallek, The Guardian, November 1, 2017 Lessons in the Decline of Democracy from the Ruined Roman Republic 88 Jason Daley, Smithsonian Magazine, November 6, 2018 A Major Democracy Watchdog Just Published a Scathing Report on Trump 93 Zack Beauchamp, Vox, February 5, 2019 Why Is American Democracy in Danger? 96 Eric Schoon and Corey Pech, Washington Post, March 5, 2019 4 How Fragile is Democracy? The Global View 101 The Growing Signs of the Fragility and Resilience of Liberal Democracy 107 Heidi Koolmeister, Diplomaatia Magazine, International Centre for Defence and Security, March 1, 2019 “Yes, We Need to Do Better”: World Leaders Talk Democracy 113 The New York Times, September 20, 2017 Despite Global Concerns about Democracy, More Than Half of Countries Are Democratic 117 Drew DeSilver, Pew Research Center, May 14, 2019 Democracy Is More Fragile Than Many of Us Realized, but Don’t Believe That It Is Doomed 120 Andrew Rawnsley, The Guardian, January 20, 2019 ’s Nationalism Threatens Europe’s Values, and Cohesion 124 Steven Erlanger and Marc Santora, The New York Times, February 20, 2019 5 What Do We Think of Democracy? Attitudes and Approaches 131 The Public, the Political System and American Democracy 137 Pew Research Center, April 26, 2018 Contents vii

20 of America’s Top Political Scientists Gathered to Discuss Our Democracy: They’re Scared 142 Sean Illing, Vox, October 13, 2017 What the World Can Learn about Equality from the 148 Geoffrey M. Hodgson, The Conversation, July 30, 2018 The Nordic Democratic-Socialist Myth 151 Nima Sanandaji, , July 26, 2016 Are Millennials Giving Up on Democracy? 155 Neil Howe, Forbes, October 31, 2017 On the Sidelines of Democracy: Exploring Why So Many Americans Don’t Vote 158 Asma Khalid, Don Gonyea, and Leila Fadel, NPR, September 10, 2018 Bibliography 165 Websites 169 Index 173