Final Exam Flashcards Polecon 160

W.E.B. Du Bois, "Of the Ruling of Men"

Democracy is a unique method of realizing justice by drawing upon the “mighty reservoir of experience” held by all human beings; its failure leads to modern industrial imperialism, which concentrates wealth and power in the hands of a few “Captains of Industry.”

Aziz Rana, "Colonialism and Constitutional Memory"

The United States historically functioned as a settler empire structured by a racial divide between insiders and outsiders, but later masked this imperial foundation by reconstructing its past as an anti-imperial civic nation through a specific reading of the Constitution.

David Marquand, "After Whig Imperialism"

Whig imperialism was a factitious identity construct used to unify a multi-national state through the success of empire; its collapse requires a shift toward pluralism and a “civic humanist” vision that accepts plural political identities.

Joanie Willett, "Power, Pluralism and Politics in the UK"

Pluralism is both a descriptive tool and a normative goal that understands politics as an assemblage of many voices where power is rhizomatic and radically dispersed throughout society.

Sean Gailmard, "Agents of Empire"

Imperialism in America involved contractual and regulatory governance frameworks where the British Crown delegated power to agents to solve “principal-agent” problems, eventually bequeathing institutional structures like federalism to the future democracy.

Richard T. Ashcroft and Mark Bevir, "Comparative Perspectives on the Theory and Practice of Multiculturalism" (Chapter 12)

To move beyond the unhelpful “siloing” of cultural groups, pluralism should operate through polycentric governance

Sarah Song, "What does it mean to be an American?"

Democratic solidarity can be fostered through pluralist models such as constitutional patriotism (allegiance to universal moral ideals) or “deep diversity,” which recognizes different modes of belonging rooted in distinctive group histories.

Lilliana Mason, "Uncivil Agreement"

Social polarization occurs when partisan identities “sort” into alignment with racial and religious identities, creating an “us versus them” mentality that prioritizes party victory over democratic compromise.

Erika Lee, "The Chinese Exclusion Example"

Gatekeeping is an imperial ideology that defines national identity by “excluding, controlling, and containing foreign-ness,” using state power to assert sovereignty through racial exclusion.

Barbara Fields, "Slavery, Race and Ideology in the United States"

Ideology is a “distillate of experience” through which people interpret social reality; racial ideology was invented to reconcile the imperial extraction of labor with the democratic ideals of the American Revolution.

T.H. Marshall, "Citizenship and Social Class"

Citizenship in modern democracy is a status granted to full community members and develops through three elements

Thomas Jefferson, "Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, September 6, 1789"

Constitutions and laws should not permanently bind future generations because “the earth belongs in usufruct to the living.” He calculates that each generation lasts roughly 19 years, meaning political institutions should periodically be rewritten to reflect the renewed consent and will of the people. For Jefferson, democratic legitimacy depends on preventing the dead from ruling the living through outdated constitutional structures.

Albert Weale, "The Will of the People"

“The will of the people” as a political myth rather than a coherent democratic reality. He argues that societies are too internally divided for a single unified popular will to exist, and politicians often invoke the phrase to legitimize exclusionary or populist politics. Using Brexit as an example, Weale shows how appeals to a singular “people” reduce complex disagreements into binary conflicts that alienate minorities and undermine democratic compromise.

Nasar Meer, "Who still needs the nation? Empire, identity and the British welfare state"

British national identity and the welfare state were both shaped through empire. The welfare state relied on a sense of national solidarity and belonging, but this solidarity was historically racialized, defining colonial subjects and immigrants as outsiders. Empire and nation-making therefore worked simultaneously through inclusion and exclusion, producing a British identity that depended on the marginalization of racialized groups.

Richard Ashcroft and Mark Bevir, "Brexit and the Myth of British National Identity"

British national identity is not a timeless or unified essence but a constructed myth composed of multiple competing traditions and narratives. Brexit exposed these fractures by forcing citizens into rigid definitions of Britishness. The authors claim democracy becomes unstable when political leaders attempt to impose a singular national identity instead of recognizing the plural and evolving identities that actually exist within society.

Richard Ashcroft and Mark Bevir, "Pluralism, National Identity and Citizenship

Britain after Brexit"

John Stuart Mill, "Of Nationality"

Representative government functions best when citizens share a common nationality, meaning common sympathies, language, history, and political feeling. He believes a united public opinion is necessary to restrain governments and sustain democratic participation. Without shared national sentiment, democratic institutions become unstable because citizens are less willing to cooperate politically or trust one another across divisions.

Nikole Hannah-Jones, "The Idea of America" (The 1619 Project)

The U.S. Constitution was fundamentally compromised by its protection of slavery through evasive and ambiguous language. She argues American democracy was built on the contradiction of proclaiming liberty while excluding Black Americans from citizenship and equality. The reading reframes American history by placing slavery and Black resistance at the center of the nation’s democratic development rather than treating them as marginal issues.

Ruth Berins Collier and Jake Grumbach, "The Deep Structure of Democratic Crisis"

Democratic crisis stems from structural economic transformations rather than simply polarization or poor leadership. The decline of labor unions weakened collective political organization and fragmented working-class solidarity, leaving citizens more susceptible to xenophobia, racism, and anti-democratic populism. Democracy becomes unstable when institutions capable of aggregating and representing collective interests deteriorate.

George Orwell, "The Lion and the Unicorn"

Socialism in England should emerge from specifically English traditions and democratic values rather than foreign revolutionary models. He criticizes hereditary privilege, class hierarchy, and elite control for suppressing the “native genius” of ordinary people. For Orwell, true socialist democracy would release the creative and political potential of the masses by restructuring English society around equality and collective participation.

Nasar Meer and Tariq Modood, "Religious pluralism in the United States and Britain"

Comparing how Britain and the United States incorporate religious diversity into national identity. They argue religious pluralism is not simply tolerance but a process through which minority groups, especially Muslims, reconcile faith with citizenship. The U.S. relies on a “wall of separation” between church and state, while Britain accommodates diversity through an established church model, but both systems attempt to integrate religious minorities into nationhood.

Linda Nicholson, "Identity before identity politics"

Modern American identity emerged from ideas of popular sovereignty and the social contract. She explains that democracy in the United States has historically been defined as rule “of and by the people,” but this definition depended on assumptions about who counted as “the people.” The reading shows how identity and democracy were intertwined long before the rise of contemporary identity politics.

Hilaire Barnett, "Constitutional and Administrative Law"

Constitution as the collection of laws, institutions, conventions, and customs that organize political authority and regulate relations between the state and individuals. The constitution establishes limits on government power through the Rule of Law, ensuring power cannot be exercised arbitrarily. In Britain, this framework is uncodified and evolves through parliamentary statutes, judicial decisions, and political conventions.

Simon Wren-Lewis, "Is Brexit a culture war or a class war?"

Brexit polarization was deeply tied to economic inequality and geographic division. Deindustrialized towns experiencing stagnation and insecurity became politically separated from globally connected cities benefiting from economic growth. Populist narratives transformed these material frustrations into cultural resentment, allowing political actors to claim they represented the authentic “will of the people” against cosmopolitan elites.

Richard T. Ashcroft and Mark Bevir, "What is Postwar Multiculturalism in Theory and Practice?" (Chapter 1)

Multiculturalism as a response to decolonization, migration, and the growing diversity of modern states. Multiculturalism challenges the traditional nation-state assumption that one people should share one culture and identity. The reading argues constitutional structures must adapt to accommodate enduring cultural diversity rather than forcing assimilation into a single national norm.

Aziz Rana, "Goodbye, Cold War"

During the Cold War, American elites used the language of democracy and constitutionalism to justify U.S. global dominance and military intervention. The Constitution became an ideological symbol representing freedom against communism, even as the government expanded surveillance, police power, and anti-radical repression domestically. Rana shows how Cold War liberalism narrowed democratic possibilities while presenting American imperial interests as universal values.

Eric Schickler, "Racial Realignment"

Civil rights reforms emerged not simply from elite decisions but from grassroots political pressure by African Americans, labor unions, and activists. These groups gradually reshaped the Democratic Party and national politics, making racial equality central to democratic identity. The reading emphasizes democracy as a contested process transformed through social movements acting from below.

Sarah Song, "Majority Norms, Multiculturalism, and Gender Equality"

Critiques forms of multicultural accommodation that reinforce patriarchal practices. She introduces the “congruence effect,” where states tolerate gender inequality within minority communities because similar patriarchal assumptions already exist within majority culture. The reading argues multicultural policies must critically evaluate power relations within groups rather than assuming all cultural accommodation promotes equality or justice.