Civic Failure and Its Threat to Democracy: Operator Error

by Chapman Rackaway

Overview

The greatest threat to American democracy is the voting public. Candidates for political office, organized interests, and political parties are often blamed for the ills of American democracy, but this book places the focus on the core issue in American politics: a disengaged, demanding, and often contradictory voting public. Structural reforms such as the direct primary, term limits, and campaign finance regime reforms make the problems worse rather than better because these structural reforms fail to address core issues that disengage the voting public from republican politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498514200
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	12/14/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	218
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Chapman Rackaway is professor of political science at Fort Hays State University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Sowing the Seeds of Civic Failure
Chapter 2: A Primer on Republican Democracy
Chapter 3: Taking the Parties Out
Chapter 4: The Effects of Partisan Decline
Chapter 5: The Semi-Sovereign Media
Chapter 6: The State of the American Voter
Chapter 7: The Dream and the Nightmare of Term Limits
Chapter 8: The Promise and the Despair of Campaign Finance Reform
Chapter 9: Leading By Following, or The Unreasonable Expectations on the Political Class
Chapter 10: Look Forward, Angel
Chapter 11: A Pathway to American Revival

Editorial Reviews

Chapman Rackaway has given us an important entry in a revitalized civic education literature. This book is a primer in civic failure, where voter apathy, ignorance, and the mismatch of citizen policy expectations with the mechanics of democracy have led to a mass abandonment of civic duty and the decline of citizenship as an ideal in the mass public. Serious students of civic education will appreciate the theoretical advancements and novel data and analysis, while policy makers at all levels of government would do well to take to heart the lessons on civic decline and the solutions proposed in Civic Failure. This is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the state of civics and the capacity for real change in American politics today.

Donald M. Gooch

Rackaway stands the conventional wisdom on its head, arguing that reforms weakening political parties are the problem, not the solution to our democratic woes. With a broad historical sweep, he argues that parties link voters to policy choices in ways that no one else can—not the news media, not narrow interest groups, not direct democracy reforms such as the petition initiative. He advocates the abolition of the direct primary, the return of soft money, halving the size of Congressional districts, and experimenting with reforms like proportional representation that encourage the formation of strong third parties.

Michael A. Smith

In this incisive and nuanced work, Chapman Rackaway reminds us that Democracy is a two way street, that our politics reflect not just candidates, media and money but the most essential element, engaged citizens. His insights are invaluable.

Kevin Anderson