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Jack M. Balkin
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The Cycles of Constitutional Time 1st Edition

by Jack M. Balkin (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 26 ratings
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What will happen to American democracy? The nation's past holds vital clues for understanding where we are now and where we are headed. In The Cycles of Constitutional Time, the eminent constitutional theorist Jack Balkin explains how America's constitutional system changes through the interplay among three cycles: the rise and fall of dominant political parties, the waxing and waning of political polarization, and alternating episodes of constitutional decay and constitutional renewal. If America's politics seems especially fraught today, it is because we are nearing the end of the Republican Party's political dominance, at the height of a long cycle of political polarization, and suffering from an advanced case of what he calls "constitutional rot." In fact, when people talk about constitutional crisis, Balkin explains, they are usually describing constitutional rot--the historical process through which republics become less representative and less devoted to the common good. Brought on by increasing economic inequality and loss of trust, constitutional rot threatens our constitutional system.

But Balkin offers a message of hope: We have been through these cycles before, and we will get through them again. He describes what our politics will look like as polarization lessens and constitutional rot recedes. Balkin also explains how the cycles of constitutional time shape the work of the federal courts and theories about constitutional interpretation. He shows how the political parties have switched sides on judicial review not once but twice in the twentieth century, and what struggles over judicial review will look like in the coming decades. Drawing on literatures from history, law, and political science, this is a fascinating ride through American history with important lessons for the present and the future.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0197530990
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0197530993
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    September 1, 2020
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    9.4 x 1 x 6 inches
  8. Print length
    256 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Balkin has been an important participant in each of the internal left -- liberal debates in the legal academy since the 1980s and developed a theory of liberal originalism -- living originalism -- in the George W. Bush era." -- Calvin TerBeek, PhD candidate in the political science department at the University of Chicago., Law & Social Inquiry, Volume 46, Issue 3

"With a masterful command of political science, history and the law, Jack Balkin has put our current political and constitutional crisis into a broader and compelling context. The Cycles of Constitutional Time should be read by anybody and everybody trying to get a handle on where we are, why we are there, and where we might be going." -- Norman Ornstein, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute; co-author of One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate and the Not-Yet-Deported

"Of the many books written since and about the election of Donald Trump, few have achieved the vision and depth of Jack Balkin's Cycles of Constitutional Time. Balkin mounts a comprehensive theory of the American regime, showing how various factors--the rise and fall of Reaganism, the increase in polarization, and deepening constitutional rot--not only brought us Trump but also, curiously and counterintuitively, might help dispose of him. Along the way, Balkin delivers one death blow after another to our most cherished beliefs, including the notion that it will be the Supreme Court that saves us. Far from being a cause for despair, Balkin's bracing and unblinkered realism offers us, with a proper mix of caution and hope, a way to see past the current moment to a future of some promise." -- Corey Robin, Professor of Political Science, Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center; author of The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Donald Trump

"Balkin's analysis of the threats to the constitutional order is both timely and incisive. There has been a lot of talk about our constitutional discontents, but Balkin brings a keen analytical eye and a needed historical perspective to bear to the issue. This book deserves a careful reading from anyone who is concerned about the foundations of the American political system and its future." -- Keith E. Whittington, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics, Princeton University; author of Constitutional Construction: Divided Powers and Constitutional Meaning

Book Description

Constitutional rot threatens our nation's future, but, as Jack Balkin shows, we have been through these cycles before.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (September 1, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0197530990
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0197530993
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.13 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.4 x 1 x 6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 26 ratings

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Jack M. Balkin

Jack M. Balkin

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
26 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

MCN
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommend!
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2020
This is the best diagnosis I've read of what afflicts the United States during the Trump era. While this book is aimed for a legal audience, it will prove informative and useful to all readers. Don't let the title intimidate you! This is a highly readable, thoughtful and enjoyable book.
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Trump bashing
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2021
Verified Purchase
I read this book to learn about the history of the rise and fall of the political parties and how they have effected American life etc. The book accomplishes this. However I thought the section on constitutional rot was just the author's way to get his bashing of President Trump in the book. It was wholly unnecessary to make the point and really left a stain on an otherwise good book
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