Imagining the American Polity

Political Science and the Discourse of Democracy

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book Imagining the American Polity by John G. Gunnell, Penn State University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John G. Gunnell ISBN: 9780271074214
Publisher: Penn State University Press Publication: January 27, 2004
Imprint: Penn State University Press Language: English
Author: John G. Gunnell
ISBN: 9780271074214
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Publication: January 27, 2004
Imprint: Penn State University Press
Language: English

Americans have long prided themselves on living in a country that serves as a beacon of democracy to the world, but from the time of the founding they have also engaged in debates over what the criteria for democracy are as they seek to validate their faith in the United States as a democratic regime. In this book John Gunnell shows how the academic discipline of political science has contributed in a major way to this ongoing dialogue, thereby playing a significant role in political education and the formulation of popular conceptions of American democracy.

Using the distinctive “internalist” approach he has developed for writing intellectual history, Gunnell traces the dynamics of conceptual change and continuity as American political science evolved from a focus in the nineteenth century on the idea of the state, through the emergence of a pluralist theory of democracy in the 1920s and its transfiguration into liberalism in the mid-1930s, up to the rearticulation of pluralist theory in the 1950s and its resurgence, yet again, in the 1990s.

Along the way he explores how political scientists have grappled with a fundamental question about popular sovereignty: Does democracy require a people and a national democratic community, or can the requisites of democracy be achieved through fortuitous social configurations coupled with the design of certain institutional mechanisms?

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Americans have long prided themselves on living in a country that serves as a beacon of democracy to the world, but from the time of the founding they have also engaged in debates over what the criteria for democracy are as they seek to validate their faith in the United States as a democratic regime. In this book John Gunnell shows how the academic discipline of political science has contributed in a major way to this ongoing dialogue, thereby playing a significant role in political education and the formulation of popular conceptions of American democracy.

Using the distinctive “internalist” approach he has developed for writing intellectual history, Gunnell traces the dynamics of conceptual change and continuity as American political science evolved from a focus in the nineteenth century on the idea of the state, through the emergence of a pluralist theory of democracy in the 1920s and its transfiguration into liberalism in the mid-1930s, up to the rearticulation of pluralist theory in the 1950s and its resurgence, yet again, in the 1990s.

Along the way he explores how political scientists have grappled with a fundamental question about popular sovereignty: Does democracy require a people and a national democratic community, or can the requisites of democracy be achieved through fortuitous social configurations coupled with the design of certain institutional mechanisms?

More books from Penn State University Press

Cover of the book Our Practices, Our Selves by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Venezuela Before Chávez by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Income Inequality in Capitalist Democracies by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Feminist Interpretations of Mary Astell by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book In the Name of Reason by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Chaos and Cosmos by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Philosophical Historicism and the Betrayal of First Philosophy by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Contested Treasure by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Animal Companions by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Women and Guerrilla Movements by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book David Hume by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book The Rhetorics of US Immigration by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Lair of the Lion by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Finding Kluskap by John G. Gunnell
Cover of the book Christine de Pizan and the Fight for France by John G. Gunnell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy