TY  - BOOK
AU  - Cain,Bruce E.
TI  - Democracy more or less: America's political reform quandary
T2  - Cambridge studies in election law and democracy
SN  - 9781107612266 (pbk)
AV  - JK 1726 .C35 2015
U1  - 320.973 23
PY  - 2015///
CY  - New York, NY
PB  - Cambridge University Press
KW  - Democracy
KW  - United States
KW  - Local
KW  - Representative government and representation
KW  - Political participation
KW  - Political culture
KW  - Polarization Social sciences
KW  - Law
N1  - Includes bibliographical references and index; 1. The ascendancy of reform populism -- 2. Reform pluralism -- 3. How much transparency? -- 4. Participation paradoxes -- 5. Reform cycles -- 6. Fair representation -- 7. Raising the political ethics bar -- 8. Election administration or policy? -- 9. A blended reform agenda
N2  - "Why do American political reform efforts so often fail to solve the problems they intend to fix? In this book, Bruce E. Cain argues that the reasons are an unrealistic civic ideal of a fully informed and engaged citizenry and a neglect of basic pluralist principles about political intermediaries. This book traces the tension between populist and pluralist approaches as it plays out in many seemingly distinct reform topics, such as voting administration, campaign finance, excessive partisanship, redistricting, and transparency and voter participation. It explains why political primaries have promoted partisan polarization, why voting rates are declining even as election opportunities increase, and why direct democracy is not really a grassroots tool. Cain offers a reform agenda that attempts to reconcile pluralist ideals with the realities of collective-action problems and resource disparities"--
ER  -