Abstract or Keywords
A senior thesis in Political Science.
Across the nation, American democracy is threatened by the downfall of civil societies over the past six decades. In 2018, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt talk about the importance of a strong civil society in How Democracies Die, where they place an emphasis on following social norms within the community. To study if social norms can be supported through the culture of a region, I traveled to six small towns in four states across the Deep South and interviewed fifty-seven individuals that are involved in their community. The aspects of Southern culture that can be a guide to saving democracy is hospitality, storytelling, and service. These three social norms work cyclically to welcome people of difference into a space; share stories of their lives to understand a different experience and their needs; and a cultural duty to serve to address those newly understood needs. This cycle of social norms can be seen supporting civil society to help create an inclusive democracy that can help overcome the historical marginalization of the South.