Broken Contract? describes the elements of voter disaffection, party decline, mass mediation, social conflict, and government by referendum so prevalent in the politics of the 1990s. Original essays by leading scholars provide a unique perspective on what is happening today, how we arrived at this point, and what the future may hold if present trends continue.

Highlights include innovative insights into the politics of disillusion along race, class, and gender lines; the "Perot people" of '92, where they went in '94 and will go in '96; and "talk-show democracy," from Larry King to Rush Limbaugh and the power of televangelism. This volume demonstrates that the Contract with America is neither the first nor the last bargain to be struck with the American public in an effort to mend its broken trust.