Splitsville USA: A Democratic Argument for Breaking Up the United States

Description

Splitsville USA argues that it’s time for us to break up to save representative democracy, proposing a mutually negotiated, peaceful dissolution of the current United States into several new nations. Zurn begins by examining the United States’ democratic predicament, a road most likely headed for electoral authoritarianism, with distinct possibilities of ungovernability and violent civil strife. Unlike others who share this diagnosis, Zurn presents a realistic picture of how we can get to reform and what it would involve. It is argued that “Splitsville” represents the most plausible way for American citizens to continue living under a republican form of government. Despite recent talk of secession and civil war, this book offers the most extensive treatment yet of the issues we need to think through to enable a peacefully negotiated political divorce. Splitsville USA is a provocative conversation opener about the problems that have gotten us into our current political pickle and how to get out of it by seizing the reins of our own constitutional destiny. The book will appeal to readers of political science, American politics, history, political philosophy and law, along with all general readers interested in the future of democracy in the United States. Cover Endorsement Page Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Prelude: Time for a US National Divorce 1.1 Signs of the End of Our Democracy 1.2 A Sketch of the Basic Argument for Splitsville 1.3 Splitsville Is Nonviolent, Negotiated Dissolution 1.4 A Democratic Conversation Opener, Not a Blueprint or Technical Report Notes Works Cited Chapter 2 Diagnosis: Democracy Imperiled 2.1 The Circumstances of Politics and Democracy 2.2 The Democratic Precommitment 2.3 We No Longer Share a Sufficient Democratic Precommitment 2.4 It’s No Accident: Structural Reasons for the Lack of Democratic Precommitment 2.4.1 Senate Disproportionality 2.4.2 Partisan Districting 2.4.3 State Legislatures Controlling the Electoral College 2.4.4 Electoral College Disproportionality 2.4.5 A Stacked but Unaccountable Judiciary 2.4.6 An Unamendable Constitution 2.5 It’s Different Now: Four Accelerants Making It Worse 2.5.1 Loss of Norms of Democracy 2.5.2 Partisan Polarization 2.5.3 Changing Public Sphere 2.5.4 Economic Capture of Policymaking 2.6 US Democracy Is in Serious Peril Notes Works Cited Chapter 3 Prescription: Splitsville USA 3.1 Basics of US Divorce 3.2 Constitutional Reboots 3.3 More Responsive Democracies 3.3.1 Increasing Homogeneity 3.3.2 Decreased Size 3.3.3 Foot-Voting 3.4 Secessionary Incentives 3.5 Preconditions for Democracy 3.6 Recap: The Democratic Argument for Negotiated Dissolution Notes Works Cited Chapter 4 Alternative Prescriptions? 4.1 Evaluating Alternatives 4.2 The Unstable Status Quo 4.2.1 Electoral Authoritarianism 4.2.2 Ungovernability 4.2.3 Violent Civil Strife 4.3 Available but Unresponsive Reforms 4.3.1 Preaching 4.3.2 Electoral Count Act 4.3.3 Voting Rights and Campaign Funds Disclosure 4.3.4 Districting Reforms 4.3.5 Informal Constitutional Change 4.4 Responsive but Unavailable Reforms 4.4.1 Multiparty Democracy 4.4.2 Article V 4.4.3 Amendment Proposals 4.4.4 Convention Proposals 4.5 Lessons for Splitsville Notes Works Cited Chapter 5 The Divorce Decree: Details of Negotiated Dissolution 5.1 One Simple Lesson from History: Nonviolent National Divorce is Possible 5.2 The Politics of Negotiated Dissolution: Animosity Redirected Regionally 5.2.1 Regional Us and Them: The Fuel of Dissolutionary Politics 5.2.2 The Main Players of Dissolutionary Politics 5.2.3 Why Regionalism? 5.3 The Law of Negotiated Dissolution: A Constitutional Divorce Decree 5.3.1 International Legal Guidance? 5.3.2 American Legal Guidance? 5.3.3 Paths to a Divorce Decree 5.3.4 Content of the Decree 5.4 New Maps: Drawing Lines and Delimiting Demoi 5.4.1 Political Decisions, Not Single Principles or Expert Dictates 5.4.2 Three Plausible Maps 5.4.3 Viable Nations Favorable to Representative Democracy? 5.5 Recap Notes Works Cited Chapter 6 The Preamble’s Broader Questions for Splitsville 6.1 We the People of the United States, in Order to Form a More Perfect Union … Do Ordain and Establish This Constitution … 6.2 Establish Justice? 6.3 Insure Domestic Tranquility? 6.4 Provide for the Common Defense? 6.4.1 The Value of Defense in the Current United States 6.4.2 Intra-Splitsville Defense 6.4.3 International Military, Diplomatic, Economic and Cultural Power 6.4.4 Values beyond National Defense 6.5 Promote the General Welfare? 6.5.1 Aggregate Welfare 6.5.2 Distributive Welfare 6.6 Secure the Blessings of Liberty? 6.7 To Ourselves and Our Posterity? 6.7.1 Constitutional Endurance 6.7.2 Constitutional Veneration 6.8 Recap Notes Works Cited Chapter 7 Authoring Our Own Destiny Notes Works Cited Index