The Sad Citizen

Auteur

Christopher Ojeda is assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Merced and a research affiliate at the University of California's Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. His research has been featured in CNN, NPR, PBS, Slate, and Vox.

Texte du rabat

For many citizens, politics is depressing. How has this come to be the norm? And, how is it influencing democracy? From rising polarization to climate change, today's politics are leaving many Western democracies in the throes of malaise. While anger, anxiety, and fear are loud emotions that powerfully activate voters, depression is quiet, demobilizing, and less visible as a result. Yet, its pervasiveness is cause for concern: after all, democracy should empower citizens. In The Sad Citizen, Christopher Ojeda draws on wide-ranging data from the United States and beyond to explain how politics is depressing, why this matters, and what we can do about it. Integrating insights from political science, sociology, psychology, and other fields, The Sad Citizen exposes the unhappy underbelly of contemporary politics and offers fresh ideas to strengthen democracy and help citizens cope with the stress of politics.