Building a Resilient Democracy

This conversation was recorded around America’s 250th anniversary and centers on a simple question: what should we celebrate about American democracy, and what needs fixing? Both guests land in the same place, that the system’s core design, checks and balances, states as “laboratories of democracy,” the separation of the executive from the legislature, has proven remarkably durable and adaptive over 250 years. Glenn Nye draws on Washington’s farewell address, where Washington predicted partisanship was inevitable but warned against letting it override a shared national identity.

Where the conversation gets specific is on structural reform: how primary systems, redistricting, and plurality-winner elections concentrate power with a small number of highly engaged voters rather than the broader electorate, and how that shapes incentives for elected officials. Both guests point to historical precedent, secret balloting, women’s suffrage, how states award electors, as proof that structural change in America, while often slow, is possible and has happened before. Sununu adds a state-level perspective from his time as governor, arguing that officials who work across the aisle and bring voters into hard decisions are rewarded, not punished, at the state and local level.

The conversation closes on a call to civic participation: pair reflection on what needs to change with actually doing something about it, rather than staying on the sidelines.

Key Takeaways from the Conversation

• American democracy has held up because it adapts, not because it’s rigid. Both guests point to states functioning as “laboratories of democracy,” able to experiment and course-correct, as a core source of resilience.
• A lot of what looks broken is structural, and structural problems are fixable. Primary systems that separate voters by party in the first round, plurality-winner elections, and legislator-drawn maps were all singled out as design choices, not immutable facts, that shape today’s incentives.
• History shows structural change is possible. Secret balloting wasn’t standard until the late 1800s. Women’s suffrage took until 1920. How states award presidential electors has changed over time. Both guests use this as evidence that today’s structural problems can change too.
• State and local leaders often earn more public trust than federal ones. The conversation draws a contrast between gridlock in Washington and examples of bipartisan cooperation at the state level, where results, not rhetoric, tend to be rewarded.
• Both guests close on the same message: get off the sidelines. Reflection paired with action, not just criticism, is the ask for this anniversary year.

Why This Conversation Matters

At a moment of genuine national reflection around America’s 250th anniversary, this conversation offers a civically engaged, structurally grounded take on what’s working and what isn’t, from two people who’ve served across the aisle from each other.

About the Guests

Chris Sununu is an American politician and engineer who served as the 82nd governor of New Hampshire from 2017 to 2025.

Glenn Nye is President & CEO of the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress. He previously served in the US House of Representatives, where he was recognized as one of the more bipartisan members of Congress, and worked as a civilian in conflict zones earlier in his career.