American Politics and Society, 7th Edition

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American Politics and Society, 7th Edition

ISBN-13: 9781405188425 See more

Author(s): David McKay

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eText:

ISBN-10 1118355393, ISBN-13 9781118355398

Print:

ISBN-10 1405188421, ISBN-13 9781405188425

Author(s): David McKay

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

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A fresh and updated look at the social background to American political and economic life, the institutions and processes of government, and the most recent and dramatic events in the political arena.

American Politics and Society, iii

Preface to the Seventh Edition, xvi

1 Government and the People in a Polarized Society, 1

The Chapters to Come, 5

2 Beliefs, Values and American Society, 6

The Nature of American Beliefs and Values, 7

Values and American Society, 18

Social Structure, 26

3 Constitutional Government, 40

Origins, 41

The American Constitution, 44

Ratification, 52

The Adaptive Constitution, 53

Assessing the Constitution, 58

4 Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations, 63

Federalism in Theory and Practice, 64

The Evolution of American Federalism, 68

The Changing Federal Role, 70

A Changing Court Role?, 79

The Future of American Federalism, 80

5 American Political Parties in Transition, 86

The Functions of Parties, 87

Crisis and Change in the American Party System, 93

The Decline and Rise of Political Parties, 99

Changing Party Ideology: 1970...2010, 102

Explaining Party Change, 105

Political Parties Redux, 106

6 Elections and Political Participation, 111

Patterns of American Electoral Behaviour, 113

The 'American Voter' Model and the New Deal Coalition, 120

The Decline of the New Deal Coalition and the Rise of a Divided Electorate, 125

Non-Electoral Political Participation, 136

7 The Media and American Politics, 145

Media Structure and Organization, 146

Organization and Ownership, 147

How Biased? The Media and the Political Agenda, 149

Controlling the Media, 155

The Media and American Democracy, 156

8 Congress I: The People's Branch?, 160

Representation and Congress, 162

Congressional Elections, 166

Legislators as Rational Actors, 171

The Work of Member of Congress, 177

Conclusions, 179

9 Congress II: Functions and Powers ... The Broken Branch?, 183

The Functions of Congress, 184

The Structure of Power in Congress, 185

Congress Under Fire, 194

Reform and Change in Congress, 203

Is Congress the Broken 'Branch'?, 208

10 The Presidency I: Powers and Selection, 213

Formal Sources of Power, 214

Informal Powers, 216

Presidential Selection, 219

Presidential Selection: Faults and Foibles, 229

11 The Presidency II: The President as Chief Executive, 234

The Presidency in a Changing America, 235

Presidential Abuse of Power and the Congressional Response, 239

Presidential Resources, 242

Assessing the Presidency: Presidential Power at Home and Abroad, 253

12 Bureaucratic Power: Federal Departments and Agencies, 258

The Federal Bureaucracy: Organization and Function, 261

The Bureaucracy: How Uncontrollable?, 266

The Inherent Power of Bureaucracy, 267

The Bureaucratic Hydra: A Uniquely American Phenomenon?, 269

Reform Attempts, 273

Concluding Remarks, 276

13 The Security State, 280

The Rise of the Security State, 281

9/11, the Patriot Act, and the Department of Homeland Security, 283

Threats to Civil Liberties, 287

The Security State and American Values, 289

14 Organized Interests: The Real Power?, 293

Interests, Groups and Lobbyists, 295

Economic Groups, 298

Professional Groups, 305

Promotional Groups, 307

Political Action Committees, 309

The Washington Lobby, 312

Interest Groups: For and Against, 312

15 The Supreme Court and Judicial Politics, 319

The American Legal System, 321

The Supreme Court: Decision-Making, 324

The Supreme Court and Political Power, 330

The Polarized and Activist Rehnquist and Roberts Courts, 343

Conclusions: The Court and American Democracy, 345

16 Regulating Morality: Civil Rights, Liberties and the Conscience Issues, 350

Introduction, 351

Regulating Public Morality, 351

Civil Liberties, 352

Equality and Civil Rights, 360

Conclusions, 365

17 Social Policy in America: Self-Reliance and State Dependence, 369

The Federal Government and Social Welfare in America: The Reluctant Provider, 370

Federalism, 372

Social Security, Medicare and the Electoral Connection, 373

The Continuing Importance of Self-Reliance, 375

Health-Care Reforms, 377

The Federal Government and Education, 379

Conclusions, 380

18 Managing Economic Change, 383

State and Economy in the United States, 384

Ideology and Economic Policy, 387

Institutions and Economic Policy, 391

Conclusions: Economic Policy in an Age of Uncertainty, 399

19 Environmental Politics, 402

Background, 403

The Emerging Environmental Agenda, 403

Policy Actors and Institutions, 406

Chronology, 410

Political Parties and the Environment, 411

Conclusions: The Future of Environmental Politics, 412

20 The American World Role, 415

The Institutional Context, 417

American Foreign Policy in the Post-9/11 World, 420

Conclusions: Bound to Lead or Bound to Fail?, 424

21 The American Political System in an Uncertain World, 429

Assessing the American Polity, 430

Reform and Renewal, 434

Websites, 437

Glossary, 440

Appendix: The Constitution of the United States, 457

Index, 479

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American Politics and Society, 7th Edition

ISBN-13: 9781405188425 See more

Author(s): David McKay

Price Information

Additional product details

Marketing Promotion