Book & podcast collection

Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress

byMaya L. Kornberg

Maya L. Kornberg examines why successive generations of reformers have struggled to transform Congress. Following the incoming classes of 1974, 1994, and 2018, she compares their ambitions with the institutional pressures they encountered. Interviews and legislative records illuminate how fundraising demands, concentrated party power, diminished staff resources, political threats, and an attention-driven media environment constrain lawmakers. Rather than treating dysfunction as inevitable, Kornberg considers practical changes that could help members do substantive work. The book links the everyday experiences of legislators to larger questions about representation, democratic accountability, and the possibility of institutional renewal.

Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press

Publication date

2026-03-10

Format

Hardcover

Pages

280

ISBN

9781421454580