American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America's Future

By William E. Hudson

Book Overview

With the economic crisis, intense partisan gridlock, and social movements like the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, American Democracy in Peril encapsulates the tumultuous state of American politics more than ever. Hudson′s provocative book offers a structured, yet critical look at the functioning of the American political system.

This new edition incorporates the far-ranging impact of the Obama presidency--and the polarization that has accompanied it--along with these key updates:
New discussion of the barriers of the separation of powers system, including the tortured politics of health care reform, the threats of government shutdown over deficit reform, and the use of institutional vetoes to prevent economic stimulus measures. New developments from the last election cycles, including changes in party politics, campaign funding, campaign media technologies and social media, and efforts at voter suppression. Fresh examination of the financial deregulation that led to the crisis, the massive financial bailout, and rising economic inequality. New insight regarding Obama′s continuity with Bush-era national security practices from the use of secrecy to centralized executive control of policy.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 145222675X
• ISBN13: 9781452226750
• Release Date: July 2012
• Publisher: CQ Press
• Length: 456 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Provocative and Insightful

This book does a great job at exposing some of the serious structural problems that threaten the future of democracy in the U.S. I highly recommend it for students and scholars of the American political system.

Well thought out and persuasive

I am a college student at Temple University and I had to read this book for my political science class. I thought this book was very well thought out and persuasive. In the book, Hudson explains eight reasons why America falls short of being a true democracy. I learned very much from this book and I suggest it to somebody who wants to learn about the United States' democratic system and how it could work better!