A stellar group of America's leading political thinkers explore how to reboot our democracy The presidential election of 2016 highlighted some long-standing flaws in American democracy and added a few new ones. Across the political spectrum, most Americans do not believe that democracy is delivering on its promises of fairness, justice, shared prosperity, or security in a changing world. The nation cannot even begin to address climate change and economic justice if it remains paralyzed by political gridlock.
Democracy Unchained is about making American democracy work to solve problems that have long impaired our system of governance. The book is the collective work of thirty of the most perceptive writers, practitioners, scientists, educators, and journalists writing today, who are committed to moving the political conversation from the present anger and angst to the positive and constructive change necessary to achieve the full promise of a durable democracy that works for everyone and protects our common future. Including essays by Yasha Mounk on populism, Chisun Lee on money and politics, Ras Baraka on building democracy from the ground up, and Bill McKibben on climate, Democracy Unchained is the articulation of faith in democracy and will be required reading for all who are working to make democracy a reality.
Table of Contents Foreword
Introduction
David W. Orr Part I. The Crisis of Democracy Populism and Democracy
Yascha Mounk Reconstructing Our Constitutional Democracy
K. Sabeel Rahman Restoring Healthy Party Competition
Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson When Democracy Becomes Something Else: The Problem of Elections and What to Do About It
Andrew Gumbel The Best Answer to Money in Politics After Citizens United: Public Campaign Financing in the Empire State and Beyond
Chisun Lee Remaking the Presidency After Trump
Jeremi Suri The Problem of Presidentialism
Stephen Skowronek Part II. Foundations of Democracy Renewing the American Democratic Faith
Steven C. Rockefeller American Land, American Democracy
Eric Freyfogle Race and Democracy: The Kennedys, Obama, Trump, and Us
Michael Eric Dyson Liberty and Justice for All: Latina Activist Efforts to Strengthen Democracy in 2018
Maria Hinojosa What Black Women Teach Us About Democracy
Andra Gillespie and Nadia E. Brown&l 
