What Are the Pillars of Democracy?

On this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Suzanne Mettler and Robert Lieberman join Julia and Lee to discuss the state of democracy in the United States. Suzanne is the John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions in the Government Department at Cornell University. Her research and teaching interests include American political development, inequality, public policy, political behavior, and democracy. Robert is Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. He studies American political development, race and American politics, and public policy. Robert also writes about the development of democracy in the United States. Suzanne and Robert are the authors of Four Threats: The Recurring Crises of American Democracy (St. Martin’s Press, 2020).

Why has democracy persisted in the United States? Is it still secure today? If not, what threats does it currently face? And when did they arise? These are some of the questions Suzanne, Robert, Julia, and Lee discuss on this week’s episode.