Can America Govern Itself?

Analyzes how rising party polarization, unequal representation, and economic inequalities affect the performance of American governing institutions.

This volume brings together a diverse group of distinguished scholars to address concerns about the contemporary performance of American institutions of government. It examines how rising inequality and party polarization have affected representation, governing processes, policy outcomes, and the constitutional system.Can America Govern Itself? brings together a diverse group of distinguished scholars to analyze how rising party polarization and economic inequality have affected the performance of American governing institutions. It is organized around two themes: the changing nature of representation in the United States; and how changes in the political environment have affected the internal processes of institutions, overall government performance, and policy outcomes. The chapters in this volume analyze concerns about power, influence and representation in American politics, the quality of deliberation and political communications, the management and implementation of public policy, and the performance of an eighteenth century constitution in today's polarized political environment. These renowned scholars provide a deeper and more systematic grasp of what is new, and what is perennial in challenges to democracy at a fraught moment.