New book from Associate Professor Jeff Miller looks back to ancient Greece for lessons on a “Democracy in Crisis”

At a turbulent moment in U.S. and global politics, a new book from Jeff Miller, associate professor of political science, looks to ancient Greece for potential solutions to today’s existential problems.

“Democracy in Crisis: Lessons from Ancient Athens,” out now from Imprint Academic, uses Greek political history as a lens through which to view current events in the United States.

“When philosophers think about politics or democracy, they turn to the ancient Greeks,” he said. “What I do in the book is take specific institutions that you can talk about in relatively discreet terms from Athens, and describe them, and look at how they can maybe help us expand our democratic imagination.”

Miller’s research combined his background in the study of political philosophy with Greek history to explore principles from their society that may work in today’s America. One example is the Greek practice of using a lottery system for electing candidates into office, which could be a way to neutralize campaign finance inequities.

“People look at legislative offices, bureaucratic offices, and they feel like the bureaucracies have been captured by industry,” he said. “Having people come in on the basis of a lottery change, if you don’t know who’s going to be selected, if they’re not going to be in office for all that long, they are much more difficult to bribe.”

Learn more about the SUNY New Paltz Department of Political Science and International Relations on its website.