Democracy on the Edge

John Kenneth White is emeritus professor of politics at The Catholic University of America. In addition to his regular column in The Hill, he is the author of many books, including Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism, also from Kansas.Matthew R. Kerbel is emeritus professor of political science at Villanova University. He is the author of the popular political Substack Wolves and Sheep. In addition to many other books, he is the coauthor, with John Kenneth White, of American Political Parties: Why They Formed, How They Function, and Where They’re Headed, also from Kansas.

• Preface: Children of Light, Children of Darkness1. American Democracy at a Crossroads2. Breaking the American Compact: January 6 and the Reelection of Donald Trump3. The Emerging America of Millennials and Zoomers4. The Republicans’ Imprisonment5. The Democrats’ Quest for an Elusive Majority6. A New American RepublicAfterword: The Politics of DestructionAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

"John White and Matthew Kerbel provide a learned and insightful analysis of America’s present discontents. The 2020, 2022, and 2024 elections, they argue, are part of a larger struggle for the destiny of the American republic—as momentous a time in American history as three epochs that have redefined the nation’s social contract: the Revolution, Civil War, and New Deal. Democracy on the Edge depicts a Fourth Republic in the making, a riveting, clear-eyed tale of a nation positioned at a momentous crossroad. The American people, White and Krebel show persuasively, face a profound choice between the darkness of authoritarian rule and the light of multiracial democracy, an unprecedented chapter in the never-ending struggle to define who we are as a people."—Sidney M. Milkis, White Burkett Miller Professor, Department of Politics, University of Virginia, and coauthor of Subverting the Republic: Donald J. Trump and the Perils of Presidentialism"White and Kerbel’s chilling account should awaken all citizens concerned about the fate of the American experiment. The authors skillfully decipher the generational, cultural, racial and gender cleavages that played a role in rendering the nation’s political parties and its once formidable institutions incapable of rebuffing Trumpism. Their analysis of recent electoral results provides a remarkably insightful window into the road to decline. Yet the authors end on an optimistic note, reminding us that the fate of the republic remains in the hands of a citizenry that has within its grasp the power to reject the most demagogic and destructive president in the nation’s history."—Stephen F. Knott, author of The Lost Soul of the American Presidency: The Decline into Demagoguery and the Prospects for Renewal"This lucid and moral work of contemporary history contextualizes critical events while offering fresh reminders of overlooked moments and new angles of vision on our troubled times. It’s the best book so far for understanding the full toxicity of the Trump Era."—Jonathan Alter, author of His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life"Democracy on the Edge offers a real and at times raw assessment of the American experiment. White and Kerbel make clear elections are not just an exercise between Democrats and Republicans but rather a much deeper expression of our discontent, political realignment, racial currents, and generational faultlines—all of which have, in successive election cycles, threatened the stability of our Republic. From tariffs and culture wars to housing affordability and animosity towards immigrants, both political parties no longer define or shape the course of American politics. We do."—Michael Steele, Former Chairman Republican National Committee"Most political science recaps of recent elections are forgettable. Not so here. With historical perspective and muscular prose, White and Kerbel serve as thoughtful and eloquent guides to the present scene, emphasizing just what Donald Trump hath wrought to his once-proud party, and how Democrats have been lackluster in response."—Daniel Schlozman, coauthor of The Hollow Parties: The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics"Like the Master Clock that sits at the Naval Observatory, White and Krebel measure the political time of Donald Trump with extreme precision. Down to the second, these two skilled scholars of democracy track what has come before as well as what this portends for the future of the republic. Read this timely book."—Heath Brown, Professor of Public Policy, City University of New York, John Jay College, and author of Roadblocked: Joe Biden's Rocky Transition to the Presidency"John Kenneth White and Matthew R. Kerbel write an engaging and authoritative account of an America passing through increasingly intense zero-sum elections. They are right that it will likely end with America as either an autocracy with an authoritarian president or as a multi-racial and multi-cultural democracy."—Stanley Greenberg, Principal of Greenberg Research, Democracy Corps, Climate Policy & Strategy