America's New Democracy - Softcover

Fiorina, Morris P.; Peterson, Paul E.; Johnson, Bertram; Mayer, William G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0205662935 ISBN 13: 9780205662937

Publisher: Longman, 2008

Synopsis

This concise, highly affordable text provides an engaging, analytical approach to American Government that stresses the importance of elections in contemporary American politics. Written in a strong narrative voice and brimming with student-relevant examples, America’s New Democracy provides a focused and stimulating treatment of politics in the United States. Illustrating popular influence across the political system in defense of a central theme–-that elections matter more in America’s political system today than they have in the past or do in other democracies-–the book challenges the pessimistic view that government seldom listens to ordinary people. America’s New Democracy encourages readers to see that in a system where votes are the main currency, both power and responsibility rest on the shoulders of all citizens.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Features:

• Inexpensive and brief, this book is an excellent foundation for professors who want to add supplementary texts, additional readings, or periodicals. 
• Coverage of hot topics in American political culture includes values-based conflicts over gay rights, the ongoing immigration debate, and bias in the mass media.
• Strong attention to civil rights and liberties, presents the most recent Supreme Court cases on issues such as affirmative action and the war on terror.
• Up-to-date coverage on public policy, including recent changes in social welfare policy and prescription drug coverage.
• In-depth coverage of important and often overlooked topics, includes discussions of unconventional participation, religion and politics, and linguistic minorities.
• A hallmark of text, completely up-to-date scholarship incorporates the most recent political science research available.
• Chapter-opening vignettes introduce the subject matter with high-interest issues such as Hurricane Katrina (Chapter 3) and the role of race and gender in the 2008 campaign (Chapter 15).
• “Election Voices” essays explore the various sides of important, current public policy debates on such topics as the constitutionality of the death penalty, arguments for and against restrictions on lobbying, and the complex matter of U.S. energy policy.
• “On the Web” list of links found at the end of each chapter directs students to pertinent web sites for further study.
• Chapter Summary, Key Terms, and annotated Suggested Readings are also found at the end of each chapter.

 

New to this Edition:

• Updated throughout to include results of the 2008 presidential election and coverage of key political events and issues of the last two years.
• Public opinion and the media are now treated in two separate chapters, for more complete and effective coverage of these distinct topics.
• Expanded! New Election Voices essays on the national drinking age (Chapter 3) and whether the government should enact a nationwide civics program (Chapter 5).
• Covers the most recent developments in American politics, including the ongoing issue of illegal immigration (Chapter 4);public opinion on the Iraq War (Chapter 5); the importance of the Internet as a news source (Chapter 6); the role of video sharing sites like “YouTube” and the blogosphere (Chapter 6); changes in the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment guarantee of the right to bear arms (Chapter 14); and the implications of the recession of 2008 (Chapter 16).
• Several important topics have increased and/or updated coverage in this edition: traditional conceptions of democracy (Chapter 1); group differences in public opinion (new text material and figure in Chapter 5); the role of superdelegates in the presidential nomination process (Chapter 8); the power of parties in Congress (new text material and a figure showing that congressional parties are more unified today than a decade ago in Chapter 10); privatization as a means to control bureaucratic expansion (Chapter 12); and Supreme Court judges’ approaches to constitutional interpretation (Chapter 13).
• Features the most up-to-date political science research, such as Jane Mansbridge’s work on rethinking representation (Chapter 1) and Barbara Sinclair’s work on unorthodox lawmaking (Chapter 10). .
• Enhanced, interactive graphs and charts! The book’s already excellent figures have been improved with questions that inspire higher order thinking and analysis of the data.

About the Author:

Morris P. Fiorina is Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.  He has published numerous books, including Representatives, Rolls, and Constituencies; Congress – Keystone of the Washington Establishment; and most recently Culture War: The Myth of a Polarized America.  Fiorina has served on the editorial boards of a dozen journals in the field of political science, economics, law, and public policy, and he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. 

 

Paul E. Peterson is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and Director of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University.  He received the Woodrow Wilson Award from the American Political Science Association for his book City Limits, and the Aaron Wildavsky Award for the best book on public policy for his The Price of Federalism.  Peterson is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

 

Bert Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College.  He received his B.A. from Carleton College and his Ph.D. from Harvard University.  Johnson has written on federalism, intergovernmental relations, and campaign finance.

 

William G. Mayer is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Northeastern University.  He has authored numerous publications, including In Pursuit of the White House 2000: How We Choose Our Presidential Nominees, "Mass Partisanship, 1946-1996," and Divided Democrats: Ideological Unity, Party Reform, and Presidential Elections.  Mayer’s areas of study include American politics, public opinion, and the media.

About this edition

• Publisher: Longman
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0205662935
• ISBN 13: 9780205662937
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 5
• Number of pages: 608