There has been a growing chorus of political analysts with doomsday predictions of an American public that is uncivil, disengaged, and alienated. And it s only getting worse with a younger generation of Americans who do not see the value in voting.
The good news is that the bad news is wrong.
Russell Dalton uses a new set of national public opinion surveys to show how Americans are changing their views on what good citizenship means. It s not about recreating the halcyon politics of a generation ago, but recognition that new patterns of citizenship call for new processes and new institutions that reflect the values of the contemporary American public. Trends in participation, tolerance, and policy priorities reflect a younger generation that is more engaged, more tolerant, and more supportive of social justice. The Good Citizen shows how a younger generation is creating new norms of citizenship that are leading to a renaissance of democratic participation. An important comparative chapter in the book showcases cross-national comparisons that further demonstrate the vitality of American democracy.
This book will reshape how we think about the American public, American youth, and the prospects for contemporary democracy.
Russell Dalton is a professor of political science at the University of California, Irvine. His research and teaching focuses on the role of citizens in the political process, and how democracies can better address public preferences and the democratic ideal. He has authored or edited more than twenty books and more than a 150 research articles. Dalton has been awarded the Deve...