Promise and Performance of American Democracy - Softcover

Bond, Jon R.; Smith, Kevin B.; Watson, Richard A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0534643159 ISBN 13: 9780534643157

Publisher: Cengage Learning, 2005

Synopsis

Grounded in basic political science research, yet readily accessible to undergraduates, PROMISE AND PERFORMANCE uses the title's theme as an organizing framework for studying American Politics. The promise of democracy is analyzed using four core values: Popular Sovereignty, Political Freedom, Political Equality and Majority Rule/Minority Rights and is further explored in several new features including "Living the Promise" and "Promise and Policy" boxes. The performance part of the theme is then integrated with an assessment at the end of every chapter along with a concluding policy chapter. Solid scholarship and writing makes this an ideal text not just for reading and learning, but also as an example of how political science is researched and written by the practitioners in academia.

About this title

About the Author:

Jon R. Bond, professor of political science at Texas A&M University, received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research analyzes the policy-making process and the operation of democracy in American politics. Professor Bond has published articles on presidential-congressional relations, congressional elections, and public policy in the discipline's major journals. He is coauthor of THE PRESIDENT IN THE LEGISLATIVE ARENA, and coeditor of POLARIZED POLITICS: CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT IN A PARTISAN ERA, and INSTITUTIONAL GAMES AND THE U.S. SUPREME COURT. In 1987 and 1988, Dr. Bond was An APSA Congressional Fellow, working on the staffs of Senator Lloyd Bentsen and Representative Norman Mineta. He has served as coeditor of the JOURNAL OF POLITICS, and as president of the Southern Political Science Association, the oldest regional political science association, and Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society.

Review:

"THE PROMISE AND PERFORMANCE OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY incorporates the best political science scholarship in a concise and readable format that will challenge your students's preconceived notions about American politics. Regardless of whether they are cynical, patriotic or neutral, this text will provide them with the analytical tools to explore whether or not and to what extent our system functions properly."

"I believe that the Bond text is superior to most of the other American Government texts in terms of content. Its strength lies in the way that it attempts to bring current empirical research on American politics into the introductory discussion of the subject....Pedagogically I like the authors's focus on issues related to the promise and performance of American democracy."

"The three biggest strengths of the text are: it challenges students to questions the performance of the American governmental system and asks students to engage the material at a deeper level; the text uses very good examples as hooks at the beginning of each chapter that should lead to more student interest in the text; because the text uses an approach of challenging students to assess performance the text reads less like a traditional textbook that reports only the facts (which students find less appealing)."

"The books has 'a very contemporary focus, very alert to current development in political science, with no obvious political or ideological bias, and a thesis that can be used to provoke student discussion.'"

"The clarity of Bond, et. al's writing is excellent. I think the paragraphs as a whole develop consistent themes more clearly and are more 'academic' in their pitch and balance. It brings a wide wealth of knowledge together in comprehensible, but not patronizing language."

About this edition

• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0534643159
• ISBN 13: 9780534643157
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 648