Splitsville USA

Christopher F. Zurn is Professor of Philosophy at UMass Boston, USA, specializing in social and political philosophy. Along with journal articles and book chapters, he has published two monographs: Deliberative Democracy and the Institutions of Judicial Review (2007) and Axel Honneth: A Critical Theory of the Social (2015). He has also co-edited two essay collections: New Waves in Political Philosophy (2009) with Boudewijn de Bruin, and Anerkennung (2009, in German) / The Philosophy of Recognition: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (2010, in English) with Hans-Christoph Schmidt am Busch.

• 1 Prelude: Time for a US National Divorce  2 Diagnosis: Democracy Imperiled  3 Prescription: Splitsville USA  4 Alternative Prescriptions?  5 The Divorce Decree: Details of Negotiated Dissolution  6 The Preamble's Broader Questions for Splitsville  7 Authoring our own Destiny

"Many Americans claim to be concerned about political polarization, yet when it comes to presenting a solution insist on blaming the problem entirely on the other side. They wind up thereby exemplifying the problem rather than contributing to its solution. Zurn suggests that rather than diminishing polarization perhaps Americans should be amplifying it, with the goal of ultimately breaking up the country. While many will regard his solution as equally impractical, he presents a strong case, in a discussion that is refreshingly free of false piety."Joseph Heath, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto, Canada"Has America grown too divided to govern? Christopher Zurn answers emphatically "yes" in Splitsville USA, a must-read for students and scholars of U.S. constitutional history, law, and politics. Zurn’s provocative remedy for what ails America—a negotiated dissolution of the Union—is sure to spark a visceral response from readers. Some will reject it. Others will endorse it. And still others will initially resist but reluctantly agree. Yet wherever they stand on Zurn’s controversial proposal to save America from itself, readers will find much to commend in this challenging and revelatory analysis of democracy in the United States."Richard Albert, Professor of World Constitutions and Director of Constitutional Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, United States"These are momentous and challenging times for the United States, calling for audacious thought. Christopher Zurn rises to the occasion. He first sets out ome of the causes of our present discontents and worries about the very survival of our democratic system. But his real contribution is his suitably audacious suggestions for alleviating them. He advocates, and describes, a peaceful, perhaps even amiable, "divorce" by which the Union would be dissolved and separated into more manageable and presumably less polarized units. One need not agree with all of his particular suggestions in order to admire his civic concern and engagement. What is vitally needed at this time is the kind of candid and sobering argument that Zurn offers and invites from others." Sanford Levinson, University of Texas Law School, author of Framed: America’s 51 Constitutions and the Crisis of Governance, United States