Polarization and Deep Contestations: The Liberal Script in the United States

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This book explores the deep contestations of the liberal script in the contemporary United States from a variety of perspectives. US democracy today is in crisis because of a profound ideological and affective polarization. The chapters in this volume show that Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican Party is a symptom and a catalyst, but not the cause, of the contemporary contestations of the liberal script in the US. To discern their major drivers from a longue durée perspective, each chapter takes a step back and asks three main questions: (1) How can we best describe the current contestations of the liberal script in the US, exploring the extent to which the US is unique in comparison to other liberal democracies facing similar contestations? (2) What are the main drivers and root causes that explain the current contestations and the crisis of American democracy they may precipitate? (3) What are the likely consequences for the future of American democracy?

The conclusions do not lead us to expect a return to ＂the norm＂ of internal contestations of the liberal script that are common in liberal democracies and have characterized the US throughout its history. Political, economic, and cultural polarization is by now deeply entrenched in American society and is eroding ＂mutual toleration＂ as the basis of American democracy. In other words, the resilience of US liberal democracy is at stake. It is unlikely that we will see the US liberal script bounce back in the near future.

This volume has emerged from research carried out as part of the Cluster of Excellence ＂Contestations of the Liberal Script - SCRIPTS＂, which analyzes the contemporary controversies about liberal ideas, institutions, and practices on the national and international level from a historical, global, and comparative perspective. It connects academic expertise in the social sciences and area studies and collaborates with research institutions in all world regions. Operating since 2019 and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), SCRIPTS unites eight major Berlin-based research institutions: Freie Universität Berlin, the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), the Hertie School, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the Berlin branch of the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS), and the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO).

Tanja A. Börzel, Professor of Political Science and European Integration, Freie Universität Berlin, Thomas Risse, Senior Professor of International Politics, Freie Universität Berlin, Stephanie B. Anderson, Professor and Head of the School of Politics, Public Affairs & International Studies, University of Wyoming, Jean A. Garrison, Professor of Political Science and International Studies, University of Wyoming

Tanja A. Börzel is Professor of Political Science and holds the Chair for European Integration at the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science, Freie Universität Berlin. She is the director of the Cluster of Excellence ＂Contestations of the Liberal Script＂ (SCRIPTS). Her most recent publications include The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Regionalism (co-edited with Thomas Risse; OUP 2016) and Why Noncompliance. The Politics of Law in the European Union (Cornell University Press 2021).

Thomas Risse is Senior Professor and Director of the Berlin International Research and Training College at the Cluster of Excellence ＂Contestations of the Liberal Script＂ (SCRIPTS) at Freie Universität Berlin. He is co-editor of the 75th anniversary issue of International Organization (2021) and co-author, with Tanja A. Börzel, of Effective Governance Under Anarchy. Institutions, Legitimacy, and Social Trust in Areas of Limited Statehood (Cambridge University Press 2021). He has taught in the US at the universities of Cornell, Yale, Stanford, Harvard, and Wyoming, and in Europe at the University of Konstanz and the European University Institute.

Stephanie B. Anderson is Professor of Political Science and Head of the School of Politics, Public Affairs & International Studies at the University of Wyoming. She has won two Fulbright awards and held fellowships at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Freie Universität Berlin, the EU Centre in Singapore, and the University of Basel in Switzerland. She is the author of two books as well as articles in several journals and edited volumes including Armed Forces and Society, The SAGE Handbook of European Foreign Affairs, and European Foreign Affairs Review.

Jean A. Garrison is Professor of Political Science and International Studies in the School of Politics, Public Affairs, & International Studies at the University of Wyoming. She is the author of three books and numerous articles focusing on American foreign policy, energy security, and US-China relations. She currently serves as co-director of the Malcolm Wallop Civic Engagement Program. In addition, she has served as a senior fellow at the Freie Universität Berlin and a fellow at the Mansfield Foundation in Washington, DC, and she is also the past recipient of a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship.