About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
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Description
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.
Contributor Notes
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
Editorial Reviews
Imperfect Democracies offers a broad and unprecedented comparison of democratic institutions in Canada and the United States that will considerably advance scholarly debate about democracy in each country. It is both substantive and accessible as an exploration of what the “democratic deficit” means in each country.
— Jonathan Malloy, author of Between Colliding Worlds: The Ambiguous Existence of Government Agencies for Aboriginal and Women’s Policy
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.
— Jonathan Rose, co-author of When Citizens Decide: Lessons from Citizens Assemblies
