Task Force on Institutional Reforms to Combat Political Extremism

Edited by: Larry Diamond, Edward B. Foley, and Richard H. Pildes

Link to book  |  Watch event  |  Task Force Members and Executive Summaries

About the Book

“This volume is a treasure trove of ideas about how to make our electoral system better—less polarized, more responsive to citizens. In it, big thinkers discuss big ideas. Their analyses are rich, detailed, and incisive. This might very well turn out to be the book that launches a thousand reforms.” — Costas Panagopoulos, Northeastern University

“At this time when distrust and partisanship are too often justifications for the status quo, the authors offer evidence-based, consensus-driven, achievable proposals to improve governance in the United States. Anyone interested in reforming US democracy should start here.” — Derek T. Muller, Notre Dame Law School

The Task Force on American Electoral Reform was formed in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol aimed at disrupting the counting of votes in the 2020 presidential election. The purpose of the task force was to consider possible institutional reforms to elections in the United States that would diminish extremism and polarization and hence the potential for future existential threats to American democracy. The guiding premise of the task force has been that the current institutional rules enable politically extreme actors to achieve electoral success to a greater degree than voters harbor extremist views. In other words, the current system enhances rather than reduces the voice and power of extreme candidates and factions. And this also makes our politics and governing institutions more polarized and less amenable to compromise. Our goal has been to identify reforms that could reverse the overrepresentation of extremists and ease polarization. The task force consisted of thirty-one political scientists, law professors, and other scholars, whose names are listed here:

Inclusion in this list does not necessarily entail agreement with the contents of the book, and institutional affiliations are included for identification only.