America in context

We often read or hear about turmoil before, during, or after elections around the world. An important characteristic of democracy in the United States, however, is the regularly recurring peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next. Americans know when the next presidential election will take place — the Tuesday after the first Monday in November every four years. And power will be transferred to the newly elected (or re-elected) president on January 20 of the following year.

In this issue of eJournal USA, as another U.S. presidential transition takes place, we’ve tried to present our readers with insight into this process, including some historical background.

Experts Stephen Hess, Kurt Campbell, and Martha Kumar discuss the transition process, its foreign policy implications, and the art of media relations. Another expert, John Burke, describes what happens when a president is re-elected, a different kind of transition.

Interviews with Democrat Richard Riley, Bill Clinton’s secretary of education, and Republican Stuart Holliday, a member of George W. Bush’s transition team, describe the process from the inside. Terry Good, former director of the White House’s Office of Records Management, provides a look at transitions from the viewpoint of civil servants who stay on and work for several consecutive administrations.

Sidebars and a photo gallery answer questions and present interesting facts about presidential transitions and inaugurations throughout U.S. history.

As a veteran of several transitions, Terry Good sums it up: “And so one cycle ends. Another begins. American democracy in action.”