University of British Columbia Press Imperfect Democracies: The Democratic Deficit in Canada and the United States

Canada and the United States are consistently ranked among the most democratic countries in the world, yet voices expressing concern about the quality of these democracies are becoming louder and more insistent. Critics maintain that the two countries suffer from a “democratic deficit,” a deficit that raises profound questions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of their democratic institutions. Imperfect Democracies brings together Canadian and American scholars to compare how the democratic deficit plays out in the two nations. An important contribution to the field of democratic theory and the study of democratic institutions, this timely book will spark debate on both sides of the border. Review “Imperfect Democracies combines theoretical studies of the ‘democratic deficit’ with approaches that use survey data and are more behaviouralist. The authors, many of whom are leaders in their fields, address a timely subject, and the Canada-US comparison makes a novel contribution.  The volume will be useful for students of comparative politics, democratic institutions, or Canada-US politics courses.” Author: Jonathan Rose, co-author of When Citizens Decide: Lessons from Citizens Assemblies Review “This is a blue-ribbon collection of scholars, eminently qualified to assess a syndrome of pathologies that have come to be generically referred to as a ‘democratic deficit.’ The book’s comparative focus and its discussion of the challenges of arriving at contextually sensitive definitions of healthy democracy constitute serious advances to the literature in this area. The book will find a ready audience among academics and concerned citizens on both sides of the Canada-US border – and beyond.” Author: Munroe Eagles, author of Politics: An Introduction to Democratic Government, 3rd edition Book Description In light of calls to make democracy more open to citizen participation, this timely book seeks to measure and evaluate the democratic deficit on both sides of the border.   From the Author Patti Tamara Lenard is an assistant professor of applied ethics at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. Richard Simeon is a professor emeritus in the Political Science Department at the University of Toronto. Contributors: Robert C. Boatright, Simone Chambers, John C. Courtney, David C. Docherty, Amy Lang, Ethan J. Leib, Michael McDonald, David Munro, Neil Nevitte, Pippa Norris, David Ponet, Daniel Tichenor, Mark Warren, Graham White, Stephen White, and Lisa Young From the Inside Flap Canada and the United States are consistently ranked among the most democratic countries in the world, yet voices expressing concern about the quality of these democracies are becoming louder and more insistent. Critics maintain that the two countries suffer from a "democratic deficit," a deficit that raises profound questions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of their democratic institutions. Imperfect Democracies brings together Canadian and American scholars to compare how the democratic deficit plays out in the two nations. An important contribution to the field of democratic theory and the study of democratic institutions, this timely book will spark debate on both sides of the border. About the Author Patti Tamara Lenard is an assistant professor of applied ethics at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. Richard Simeon is a professor emeritus in the Political Science Department at the University of Toronto. Contributors: Robert C. Boatright, Simone Chambers, John C. Courtney, David C. Docherty, Amy Lang, Ethan J. Leib, Michael McDonald, David Munro, Neil Nevitte, Pippa Norris, David Ponet, Daniel Tichenor, Mark Warren, Graham White, Stephen White, and Lisa Young