How Democratic Is the American Constitution?

“A devastating attack on the undemocratic character of the American Constitution.”—Gordon S. Wood, New York Review of Books

“Robert A. Dahl . . . is about as covered in honors as a scholar can be. . . . He knows what he is talking about. And he thinks that the Constitution has something the matter with it.”—Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker

“Some may find it a startling question, as most Americans have an unwavering faith in the Constitution and its principles. But the author argues that we should not be afraid to examine it and to consider other options for achieving a more democratic society.”—Washington Post Book World, “Best Seller List/Washington Is Also Reading”

“Dahl, the dean of American political scientists, . . . offers not only a clear-headed dissection of the U.S. constitutional order but delivers it in prose refreshingly clear of jargon, terms of art, insider neologisms and superfluous data.”—R. K. Baker, Times of Trenton (N.J.)

“[A] thoughtful and accessible book.”—Franklin I. Gamwell, Christian Century

“Dahl probably is the US’s leading scholar of democratic theory. . . . This is a lively and challenging volume for those who still think of the Constitution as sacred text. Highly recommended at all levels.”—Choice

“Students of government, professional and otherwise, and interested general readers will find this book a valuable starting point for thinking about how to improve the performance of American democracy.”—Richard J. Maiman, Perspectives on Political Science

“Dahl is . . . a sober and meticulous scholar with unparalleled historical and comparative knowledge of democratic systems. . . . How Democratic Is the American Constitution? isreadable, provocative, and presents, in some ways at least, an unorthodox case against the Constitution. . . . [Dahl] makes a decisive case against undue constitutional reverence and against many aspects of the Constitution.”—Alan Gibson, Review of Politics

Selected by Choice as a 2003 Outstanding Academic Title

Selected by the American Library Association as one of “The Best of the Best from the University Presses: Books You Should Know About,” 2003

Selected by the Association of American University Presses as an Outstanding Book for Public and Secondary School Libraries

“This book is vintage Dahl at the highest possible level. It is lucid, acutely analytic, literate, and both consistent with the long series of previous books by Dahl and new in its details and broad contours.”—Fred Greenstein, Princeton University