Democracy amid Crises: Polarization, Pandemic, Protests, and Persuasion [Paperback]

How did the four crises of 2020 -- the COVID - 19 pandemic, the economic collapse, the national reckoning over racial justice, and the challenges to the legitimacy of the 2020 election itself (abetted by conspiracy theories) -- shape the election, its aftermath, and perceptions of the assault on the Capitol on January 6th, 2021? Kathleen Hall Jamieson collaborated with top scholars to survey over 9,000 Americans for their reaction to these unparalleled events. Unmatched in its analytical rigor,Democracy Amid Criseswill be the authoritative account of this unprecedented election and its tumultuous aftermath.A data-rich analysis of how the four inter-related crises of 2020 -- the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic collapse and K-shaped recovery, the clashes over the legacy of racism and policing, and assaults on the legitimacy of democratic institutions (abetted by conspiracy theories) -- shaped not only the 2020 election, but also the future of our democracy.The 2020 election cycle was one of the most tumultuous in the nation's history. Early in the cycle, a global pandemic hit the US, paralyzing much of the economy and raising a multitude of questions about how people would go about voting. Then, beginning in late spring, a series of police brutality cases set off a nationwide wave of protests and civil disturbances related to racial justice concerns. In the final phase, the president of the United States refused to accept the results and incited his followers to storm the US Capitol. How did all of these momentous events shape voters' opinions? And what impact did they have on the outcome?To answer these questions, Kathleen Hall Jamieson and her collaborators surveyed 9,000 Americans over the course of the year to determine how voters reacted to the events on the ground, the campaigns' attempts at persuasion, and the post-election chaos that followed Biden's victory. Generally, American voters saw the multitude of crises through the lens of tl“'