The Rodel Institute is delighted to announce that James Davison Hunter’s book, Democracy and Solidarity: On the Cultural Roots of America’s Political Crisis, has won the 2025 Edwards Book Award. The prize will be conferred on September 25th at the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, which is co-hosting this year’s award ceremony with the Rodel Institute.

The Edwards Book Award is given annually to a book that contributes to the understanding and practice of democracy and American politics. Published by Yale University Press, Democracy and Solidarity explores the cultural foundations of democracy in America. Dr. Hunter describes how the sources of solidarity among Americans have eroded, resulting in deepening polarization and a public culture defined by nihilism and grievance. Dr. Hunter argues that restoring the project of liberal democracy in America requires leaders and citizens to rebuild the cultural foundations and resources that bind us together.  

Lizzy McCourt Noonan, the Rodel Institute’s Executive Director of the Edwards Book Award, said about Democracy and Solidarity, “Dr. Hunter’s call for a principled, courageous, and humble leadership resonates deeply with the Rodel Fellowship’s mission to help America’s most promising leaders reach their full potential as public servants. Rodel Fellows have already engaged in important discussions about Dr. Hunter’s book in our recent seminars.” 

James Davison Hunter is the LaBrosse-Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture, and Social Theory at the University of Virginia, as well as the Founder and Executive Director of the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. Additionally, Dr. Hunter serves as a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum. He is the author or editor of fourteen books and has published essays, articles, and reviews on the problem of meaning and moral order in a time of political and cultural change in American life. 

********************************************

Founded in 2007, the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy empowers leaders to solve complex policy problems in a diverse and divided world. With a multidisciplinary faculty of scholars and practitioners, the Batten School offers award-winning educational programs and develops knowledge and solutions for humanity’s most pressing challenges. For more information visit www.batten.virginia.edu.