[ADRN Issue Briefing] A Critical Juncture for American Democracy
2021-02-18
Paul Pierson
ADRN Issue Briefing
A Critical Juncture for American Democracy
Paul Pierson
Professor of Political Science at the University of California at Berkeley
Salvaging America’s democracy in the post-Trump Era
It has been less than a month since Joe Biden’s inauguration as the 46th president of the United States. The Biden administration has been swift in addressing the remnants of the former Trump era including a steepened economic downturn, exacerbated racial injustice, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has cost the lives of almost half-a-million Americans. In response, the new U.S. administration has sought to coordinate against the nation’s most pressing challenges. According to Paul Pierson, John Gross Endowed Chair of the Department of Political Science at UC Berkeley, Biden faces a much deeper challenge than those aforementioned: the political juncture that the U.S. stands over the future of its democracy. Professor Pierson highlights how its institutional features make the U.S. particularly vulnerable to democratic backsliding. By navigating the devolution of the Republican Party and the protracted workings of the country’s political system, he argues that the U.S. must transform itself politically into an institution better capable of addressing challenges of the 21st century in order to retain its democratic leadership in the world.
