Constitutional Powers and Politics

The relationship between public opinion and the actions of institutions such as the Supreme Court has come under increased scrutiny in recent years. In this timely book, Eileen Braman explores how American citizens think about government across all three branches, applying a rigorous political scientific methodology to explore why citizens may support potentially risky changes to our governing system.As Braman highlights, Americans value institutions that they perceive as delivering personal and societal gains, and citizens who see these institutions as delivering potential losses are more supportive of fundamental constitutional change. In the face of growing resentment of government and recurring warnings of constitutional crisis, Braman offers a hopeful note: her findings suggest that politicians can channel discontent toward meaningful reform and the healthy evolution of our democratic system.

“A well-written, well-researched, and timely book that takes an interdisciplinary approach to addressing questions core to American democracy. Braman uses an impressive array of nationally representative survey experiments and paints a nuanced picture of how the public views institutional change and legitimacy. This is a one-of-a-kind book in the field of political science.” - Paul M. Collins Jr., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, author of Friends of the Supreme Court: Interest Groups and Judicial Decision Making“The American political system is in crisis. Gridlock has given way to anti-democratic sentiments that delegitimize the polity. Braman offers a remarkable perspective by pinpointing what shapes Americans’ beliefs about institutions. Cutting edge theory and rigorous empirical analyses reveal that when people believe institutions are working against personal and societal interests, they support fundamental change to the governance structure. Braman’s foundational contribution reorients conversations by making clear that democracy can be sustained with popular institutional changes.” - James N. Druckman, Northwestern University, co-author, with Lawrence R. Jacobs, of Who Governs? Presidents, Public Opinion, and Manipulation

Eileen Braman is Associate Professor of Political Science at Indiana University and the author of Law, Politics, and Perception: How Policy Preferences Influence Legal Reasoning (Virginia).