The Presidency And The Challenge Of Democracy

The rise of presidential power poses a significant threat to America's democratic values. As the presidency apparently eclipses Congress, the courts in power, and public/media attention, the balance of powers has tilted. In this accessible book, leading scholars explore the reasons for and implications of the rising power of the presidency.

To counter the threat America faces, two political scientists offer “clear constitutional solutions that break sharply with the conventional wisdom” (Steven Levitsky, New York Times–bestselling coauthor of How Democracies Die). Has American democracy’s long, ambitious run come to an end? Possibly yes. As William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe argue in this trenchant new analysis of modern politics, the United States faces a historic crisis that threatens our system of self-government—and if democracy is to be saved, the causes of the crisis must be understood and defused. The most visible cause is Donald Trump, who has used his presidency to attack the nation’s institutions and violate its democratic norms. Yet Trump is but a symptom of causes that run much deeper: social forces like globalization, automation, and immigration that for decades have generated economic harms and cultural anxieties that our government has been wholly ineffective at addressing. Millions of Americans have grown angry and disaffected, and populist appeals have found a receptive audience. These were the drivers of Trump’s dangerous presidency, and they’re still there for other populists to weaponize. What can be done? The disruptive forces of modernity cannot be stopped. The solution lies, instead, in having a government that can deal with them—which calls for aggressive new policies, but also for institutional reforms that enhance its capacity for effective action. The path to progress is filled with political obstacles, including an increasingly populist, anti-government Republican Party. It is hard to be optimistic. But if the challenge is to be met, we need reforms of the presidency itself—reforms that harness the promise of presidential power for effective government, but firmly protect against that power being put to anti-democratic ends.

This best-selling American government text is highly acclaimed for the nonideological framework it uses to explore three themes: freedom, order, and equality as political values; the majoritarianism versus pluralism debate; and globalization's effect on American politics. Extensively updated, this edition includes new examples, figures, data, and current discussions. The authors have also added a balanced retrospective of the Bush presidency, as well as new comparative features that place the United States in a global context. The tenth edition also includes access to AmericansGoverning.org, an online learning environment designed specifically to engage students in the political process through a variety of media, including original videos, campaign commercials, writing excerpts, simulations, and additional sources. Additional media tools include the new "In Our Own Words" feature--downloadable chapter overviews in MP3 format narrated by the authors--and marginal references to the award-winning site, IDEAlog.org.

​Despite the large amounts of human and financial resources invested to foster democratic governance in developing countries, statistics show that the majority of these countries have not yet achieved significant improvements in living standards. While some regions make strides towards improving the living conditions of their citizens, Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, is still trapped in poverty with more than 40% of its 600 million people living below the internationally recognized absolute poverty line of one US dollar per day. Poor governance and corruption should be highlighted as the most important systemic factors contributing to poverty in developing countries. As a result the institutional foundations of these countries are weakened, public funds are misappropriated, and policies and programs aimed at reducing poverty and fostering sustainable economic growth are undermined. It is therefore not surprising that a 2008 Transparency International report found a direct link between corruption and the failure of the societal institutions designed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in the majority of developing countries. This book investigates the problems of democratic governance, particularly as they relate to corruption, and also whether democracy should be based on universal principles or local context and historical factors. It also analyses the rule of law, in promoting democratic governance and curbing corruption and if governmental, non-governmental organizations, and civil societies are effective in promoting democratic governance and curbing corruption. This book will go beyond identifying the challenges and offer plausible solutions that could be adapted to various developing countries. It is premised on the importance of bridging theory and practice, which has been lacking in most local and international development publications, making of interest to scholars and policy-makers alike concerned with public administration in developing countries.​

This best-selling American government text is highly acclaimed for the non-ideological framework it uses to explore three themes: freedom, order, and equality as political values; majoritarianism versus pluralism debate; and globalization’s effect on American politics. Extensively updated, this edition includes new examples, figures, data, and current discussions. The authors include balanced coverage of the first two years of the Obama administration, coverage and analysis of the 2010 mid-term election, and a retrospective of the Bush presidency.THE ESSENTIALS version of the text replaces both the Seventh Edition of the Brief version and the Second Edition of the Student Choice version.The Eighth Edition can be packaged with Aplia, which offers students automatically graded homework assignments. Organized by chapter, Aplia helps provide students immediate, detailed explanations, and helps them come to class better prepared for discussion. For more on Aplia and other media available with this text, click on Supplements.

"Told with authority and style. . . Crisply summarizing the Adamses' legacy, the authors stress principle over partisanship."--The Wall Street Journal How the father and son presidents foresaw the rise of the cult of personality and fought those who sought to abuse the weaknesses inherent in our democracy, from the New York Times bestselling author of White Trash. John and John Quincy Adams: rogue intellectuals, unsparing truth-tellers, too uncensored for their own political good. They held that political participation demanded moral courage. They did not seek popularity (it showed). They lamented the fact that hero worship in America substituted idolatry for results; and they made it clear that they were talking about Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson. When John Adams succeeded George Washington as President, his son had already followed him into public service and was stationed in Europe as a diplomat. Though they spent many years apart--and as their careers spanned Europe, Washington DC, and their family home south of Boston--they maintained a close bond through extensive letter writing, debating history, political philosophy, and partisan maneuvering. The problem of democracy is an urgent problem; the father-and-son presidents grasped the perilous psychology of politics and forecast what future generations would have to contend with: citizens wanting heroes to worship and covetous elites more than willing to mislead. Rejection at the polls, each after one term, does not prove that the presidents Adams had erroneous ideas. Intellectually, they were what we today call "independents," reluctant to commit blindly to an organized political party. No historian has attempted to dissect their intertwined lives as Nancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein do in these pages, and there is no better time than the present to learn from the American nation's most insightful malcontents.