About CRAIFrom its founding, America has developed an array of institutions to preserve and advance our nation's liberty and prosperity. Yet today, many citizens have lost confidence in those institutions, challenging their legitimacy and compromising their missions. In an objective, non-partisan spirit, the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) will draw on the Hoover Institution's scholarship, government experience, and convening power to study the reasons behind the crisis in trust facing American institutions, analyze how they are operating in practice, and consider policy recommendations to rebuild trust and increase their effectiveness.Center for Revitalizing American InstitutionsCRAI_4b92f6b2-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea00Hoover InstitutionIn the words of its founder, Herbert Hoover, the Hoover Institution exists in large part to "support the Constitution of the United States, its Bill of Rights and its method of representative government. . . With these purposes as its goal, the Institution itself must constantly and dynamically point the road to peace, to personal freedom, and to the safeguards of the American system." In renewed pursuit of this mission, the Hoover Institution will establish its first-ever permanent center devoted to revitalizing American institutions and to addressing current challenges they are facing.Brandice Canes-WroneMaurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow | Director of the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions ^^ Expertise ^^ * Political Economy ^ * Political Institutions ^ * US Congress ^ * US Presidency ^ * Public Opinion ^ * U.S. Elections ^^ Brandice Canes-Wrone is the Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a professor in the Political Science department at Stanford. Canes-Wrone is the founding director of the Hoover Institution Center for Revitalizing American Institutions. Her current research focuses on representation and accountability, including projects on elections, campaign finance, and populism. She also writes on the effects of political phenomena on economic outcomes. ^^ During the course of her career, Canes-Wrone has published numerous articles and books on political institutions, mass political behavior, and political economy. Her book Who Leads Whom? Presidents, Policy, and Public (University of Chicago, 2006) examines how US presidents leverage public opinion to influence policy and how they respond to public opinion in their policy choices. This work was awarded the 2007 Richard E. Neustadt Book Award by the American Political Science Association for the best book on the US presidency. Her more recent scholarship on executive politics investigates how patterns of populism across the globe relate to the institutional features of the office of the chief executive. ^^ Other current research focuses on accountability and representation in the US context. She coedited Accountability Reconsidered: Voters, Interests, and Information in US Policymaking (Cambridge, forthcoming, 2023) with Chuck Cameron, Sandy Gordon, and Greg Huber, and in this volume she and Michael Kistner examine how changes in the US local media are associated with developments in congressional electoral accountability. Additionally, she has a series of recent publications on campaign finance, including on the motivations of campaign donors (with Michael Barber and Sharece Thrower) and congressional members’ responsiveness to donors (with Kenneth Miller and, in separate work, Nathan Gibson). Canes-Wrone has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served on the editorial boards of numerous political science and political economy journals. She has also served on the boards of the American National Elections Studies, the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, and the Presidents and Executive Politics Section, for which she served as president, of the American Political Science Association.Tom SchnaubeltAssistant Director of the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions ^^ Thomas Schnaubelt is the Assistant Director of the Center for Revitalizing American Institutions at the Hoover Institution. Prior to his role at the Hoover Institution, Schnaubelt served as a Lecturer and Senior Advisor on Civic Education at the Deliberative Democracy Lab, within the Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Schnaubelt came to Stanford in 2009 and has served as the Associate Vice Provost for Education, the Executive Director of the Haas Center for Public Service, and a Resident Fellow in Branner Hall, where he and his wife oversaw the development and implementation of a living-learning community focused on public service and civic engagement. In 2015, Schnaubelt coordinated the launch of Cardinal Service, a university wide effort to elevate and expand public service as a distinctive feature of the Stanford experience, and he has launched and led several national initiatives focused on democratic engagement and social change education. Schnaubelt received a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Mississippi, a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Michigan, and Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.American institutions are effective and worthy of trust_4b92f7b6-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea00To study the reasons behind the crisis in trust facing American institutions_4b92f824-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea00InstitutionsLegitimacyEducationLibertyProsperityTrustCausesResearch the causes of the crisis_4b92f84c-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea001RAI scholars will conduct analysis to understand the trajectory of America's institutions, documenting both their successes and failures, to inform recommendations for fortifying them. On what bases were American institutions established and how have they developed over time? What is causing them to lose legitimacy?BasesDocument the bases on which American institutions were established and how have they developed over time_4b92f874-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea001.1LegitimacyDocument the causes of the loss of legitimacy for American institutions_4b92f89c-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea001.2RecommendationsGenerate recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of American institutions_4b92f8c4-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea002American InstitutionsRAI scholars will examine American institutions in contemporary contexts and evaluate how they measure up to today's challenges. Societal changes, emerging technologies, and severe economic downturns have long tested our institutions and are testing them again. As part of its scholarly efforts, RAI will offer policy recommendations on how institutions can meet new challenges, both by evaluating existing reform proposals and generating new ones.ReformsEvaluate existing reform proposals and generate new ones_4b92f8ec-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea002.1EducationEducate about the importance of American institutions_4b92f93c-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea003The seeds of division and dysfunction undermining American society have coincided with a decline in civics education. To reinvigorate American democracy, civics needs to be a central part of our educational system.Citizenship FormationExamine the K12 and postsecondary US education systems as critical venues of citizenship formation_4b92f9aa-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea003.1K12 US Education SystemPostsecondary US Education SystemRAI will examine the K12 and postsecondary US education systems as critical venues of citizenship formation, in addition to recognizing the importance of lifelong educational opportunities. This effort will encompass developing curricular and pedagogical materials to advance civics education.ResourcesServe as a resource for improving the current situation and encouraging an informed and active citizenry_4b92f9e6-b8a6-11ef-b484-3fb32283ea003.2The Center for the Revitalization of American Institutions in multiple ways affirms the purpose for which Herbert Hoover created the Hoover Institution. Through fact-based scholarship, policy analysis, and dissemination of findings, RAI will help the nation meet the current existential challenges to our institutions. By giving definition to the problem and approaching it holistically, RAI will be a resource for improving the current situation and encouraging an informed and active citizenry.2024-12-12https://www.hoover.org/research-teams/center-revitalizing-american-institutions/aboutOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net