Demanding Democracy: American Radicals in Search of a New Politics

(Paperback)

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This is a major work of history and political theory that traces radical democratic thought in America across the twentieth century, seeking to recover ideas that could reenergize democratic activism today. The question of how citizens should behave as they struggle to create a more democratic society has haunted the United States throughout its hi

Reviews

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2010 "This is an excellent, evocative book examining often-ignored possibilities for American democracy. It adds richness and depth to analysis of American political thought and to continuing debate about the nature, content, and purpose of democracy."--Choice "[T]he book provides a fine primer on democratic theory in twentieth century America... [It] also offers a bold and terse read, important not just for historians but also for political activists and thinkers."--Kevin Mattson, Journal of American History "The bulk of Demanding Democracy is an interpretation of 60 years of American radical democratic thought and activism through the lens of these concerns. And it proves a most fruitful way of thinking about this history, particularly because Stears is acutely alert to the 'fiendishly difficult' task that his subjects set themselves."--Robert Westbrook, Perspectives on Politics "Graduate students and scholars interested in the connections between democratic thought, activism and new social movements in the U.S. will find this book informative, if professionally unsettling."--Jeffrey D. Hilmer, Political Studies Review

Author Bio

Marc Stears is professor of political theory, university lecturer, and fellow at University College, Oxford. He is the author of "Progressives, Pluralists and the Problems of the State" and the coeditor of "Political Theory: Methods and Approaches".