Series: Princeton Studies in Political Behavior

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...

Providing vital new insights into the ways repression shapes polarisation, After Repression helps to explain what happened in the turbulent days following the Arab Spring and illuminates the obstacles to democratic transitions around the world. In the wake of the Arab Spring, newly empowered factions in Tunisia and Egypt vowed to work together to establish democracy. In Tunisia, political elites...

How differing forms of repression shape the outcome of democratic transitions. In the wake of the Arab Spring, newly empowered factions in Tunisia and Egypt vowed to work together to establish democracy. In Tunisia, political elites passed a new constitution, held parliamentary elections, and demonstrated the strength of their democracy with a peaceful transfer of power. Yet in Egypt, unity...

The lasting effects of slavery on contemporary political attitudes in the American South. Despite dramatic social transformations in the United States during the last 150 years, the South has remained staunchly conservative. Southerners are more likely to support Republican candidates, gun rights, and the death penalty, and southern whites harbour higher levels of racial resentment than whites in other parts...

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 poor migrants shape city politics during urbanisation As the Global South rapidly urbanises, millions of people have migrated from the countryside to urban slums, which now house one billion people worldwide. The transformative potential of urbanisation hinges on whether and how poor migrants are integrated into city politics. Popular and scholarly accounts paint migrant slums as exhausted by dispossession,...

What drives anti-immigrant bias - and how it can be mitigated In the aftermath of the refugee crisis caused by conflicts in the Middle East and an increase in migration to Europe, European nations have witnessed a surge in discrimination targeted at immigrant minorities. To quell these conflicts, some governments have resorted to the adoption of coercive assimilation policies aimed...

Why debunked political rumours persist and how to combat them Political rumours and misinformation pollute the political landscape. This is not a recent phenomenon; before the currently rampant and unfounded rumours about a stolen election and vote-rigging, there were other rumours that continued to spread even after they were thoroughly debunked, including doubts about 9/11 (an "inside job") and the...

How middle class economic dependence on the state impedes democratisation and contributes to authoritarian resilience. Conventional wisdom holds that the rising middle classes are a force for democracy. Yet in post-Soviet countries like Russia, where the middle class has grown rapidly, authoritarianism is deepening. Challenging a basic tenet of democratisation theory, Bryn Rosenfeld shows how the middle classes can actually...

Why working-class Americans almost never become politicians, what that means for democracy, and what reformers can do about it. Why are Americans governed by the rich? Millionaires make up only three percent of the public but control all three branches of the federal government. How did this happen? What stops lower-income and working-class Americans from becoming politicians? The first book...

How the entertainment narrative of upward mobility distorts the harsh economic realities in AmericaIn an age of growing wealth disparities, politicians on both sides of the aisle are sounding the alarm about the fading American Dream. Yet despite all evidence to the contrary, many still view the United States as the land of opportunity. The American Mirage addresses this puzzle...