American Democracy in Peril encapsulates the tumultuous state of American politics. By introducing the history of democratic theory in terms of four “models” of democracy, Hudson provides readers with a set of criteria against which to evaluate the challenges discussed later. This provocative book offers a structured yet critical examination of the American political system, designed to stimulate students to consider how the facts they learn about American politics relate to democratic ideals. This new edition incorporates the Trump Presidency and the polarization that has accompanied his leadership.

Explains the political factors behind the failure of many developing country democracies to benefit from globalization.

In this Eighth Edition of American Democracy in Peril, author William E. Hudson provides a perceptive analysis of the challenges our democracy faces in the current era: economic crisis, partisan gridlock, rising economic inequality, and continued military conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere. By introducing the history of democratic theory in terms of four “models” of democracy, he provides readers with a set of criteria against which to evaluate the challenges discussed later. This provocative book offers a structured, yet critical examination of the American political system, designed to stimulate students to consider how the facts they learn about American politics relate to democratic ideals.

In an engaging and eye-opening mix of democratic thought and current issues, Hudson's provocative and popular text raises fundamentally important questions: does our national security state threaten the very democratic rights it is defending? Does the expansion of judicial power constitute a challenge to our democracy? Does the privileged position of business undermine democratic politics? In the wake of 9/11, the collapse of Enron and Worldcom, and the Supreme Court's controversial involvement in the 2000 presidential election, Hudson focuses on eight challenges to American democracy to provide not only balanced, clear-sighted recommendations for reform, but to emphasize that the strength of our political system rests on our ability to respond successfully to these pressing issues.

Updated to include Clinton's second term and recent economic and social developments, this text emphasizes the persistence of economic inequality despite the economic prosperity of the 1990s, plus analysis on the impact of globalization on business privilege.

This insightful text rigorously examines and accounts for contemporary developments – and crucially a reversal of ‘democraticness’ - in democratic polities and related political processes comparing 38 democracies across the world. The focus is on contemporary developments and recent volatile levels of democraticness. Democracies in Peril introduces theoretical backgrounds of what makes democracy tick and scrutinizes empirical trends and development in ‘democraticness’ in an accessible manner. It explores what ‘democracy’ as a political regime implies and how the liberal democratic model developed, as well as examining the present state of affairs in democracies, the challenges democracies encounter and the perils of democracy as a legitimate system of governance in the 21st century. The book provides a ‘systemic’ approach to adjudicate the effects of this assumed reversal in democratization in terms of popular preferences, party behaviour, institutional architecture and policy performance. The effects of public policy formation and the role of the state on actual democratic performance are also analysed. Finally, case studies on the Covid pandemic and the development of social welfare demonstrate the complex relationship between government capacities – under pressure - and the quality of democracy, approaching the question: How do 38 democratic states cope with societal problems, populist tendencies and a fast-changing world without degrading their institutional quality and legitimacy? This text will be of key interest to students, scholars, journalists and interested readers of comparative politics, democratization, public administration, political economy, constitutional law, and the social sciences in general.

Students will see politics in a whole new light after reading Hudson's provocative and popular text in which he raises fundamentally important questions: Does our National security state threaten the very democratic rights it is meant to defend? Does the expansion of judicial power endanger the tenets of our electoral system? Does the privileged position of business undermine economic equity and fairness? Focusing on eight challenges to American democracy, Hudson provides balanced, clear-sighted recommendations for reform, emphasizing that the strength of our political system rests on our ability to respond to these pressing issues.