Larry M. Bartels

Democracy for Realists, by renowned political scientists Christopher H. Achen and Larry M. Bartels, offers a compelling critique of the foundational theories underlying democratic politics. It challenges the traditional notion that well-informed citizens can effectively guide state policies through their electoral choices. Instead, the authors present a thought-provoking and empirically grounded argument that unveils the complexities and limitations of democratic...

Why leaders, not citizens, are the driving force in Europe's crisis of democracy. An apparent explosion of support for right-wing populist parties has triggered widespread fears that liberal democracy is facing its worst crisis since the 1930s. Democracy Erodes from the Top reveals that the real crisis stems not from an increasingly populist public but from political leaders who exploit...

How did we get to this point in American politics? Drawing on insights from an unprecedented decades-long study of ordinary Americans' political lives, this book tells the story of how, why, and when our politics fractured. Few time periods have been as defined by waves of monumental social change as the United States during the 1960s. Even today, almost sixty...

An acclaimed examination of how the American political system favours the wealthy, now fully revised and expanded. The first edition of Unequal Democracy was an instant classic, shattering illusions about American democracy and spurring scholarly and popular interest in the political causes and consequences of escalating economic inequality. This revised, updated, and expanded second edition includes two new chapters on...