Democracy at risk : how political choices undermine citizen participation and what we can do about it / Stephen Macedo ... [and others].

Format:

• Book

Contributor:

• Macedo, Stephen, 1957-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Political participation--United States.
• Political participation.
• United States.
• Citizenship--United States.
• Citizenship.

Physical Description:

ix, 228 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press, 2005.

Summary:

All is not well with American civic life. Citizens take part in public affairs too infrequently, too unequally, and with too little knowledge to sustain a healthy body politic. In Democracy at Risk, a distinguished team of political scientists reveals the dangers of civic disengagement for the future of representative democracy. The authors document the symptoms, such as low and unequal voter turnout. They discuss the possible sources of these problems, particularly those that arise from the design of our political institutions and public policies, and the ramifications. This important book then charts a course for reinvigorating civic participation in the United States, testing the proposition that scholarship can provide useful insight into our democratic life.

Contents:

• Toward a political science of citizenship
• National electoral processes
• The American metropolis
• Associational life and the nonprofit and philanthropic sector
• Conclusion: Assessing our political science of citizenship.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

• 0815754043
• 0815754051

OCLC:

60188521

Publisher Number:

• 9780815754046 (cloth : alk. paper)
• 9780815754053 (paper : alk. paper)