Book description
Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, America's political
institutions underwent radical changes as they adapted to comprehensive
security reforms. While the media exhaustively covered new security
protocols in the executive office, little attention was paid to other
federal agencies and branches that overhauled their systems to
accommodate heightened security requirements. As a congressional fellow
living in Washington, D. C., Jocelyn Jones Evans was an eyewitness to
the institutional culture of Capitol Hill before and after the 9/11
terrorist attacks as well as during the subsequent anthrax scare. In One
Nation Under Siege: Congress, Terrorism, and the Fate of American
Democracy, Evans uses her personal experiences as the foundation for a
richly researched analysis of how Congress changed as an institution and
a national symbol in the wake of 9/11. Evans reveals not only physical
transformations but also internal policy shifts that threaten democracy
by limiting citizens' access to their elected leaders. The only
comprehensive study of the effects of terrorism on the nation's capital,
One Nation Under Siege provides a detailed investigation of how the
nation's intricate political system adapted in times of crisis. It
covers an essential chapter in the social and political history of the
United States. Jocelyn Jones Evans, associate professor in the
Department of Government at the University of West Florida, is the
author of Women, Partisanship, and the Congress. She lives in Pensacola,
Florida.
