The American Political System: Core Edition

A contemporary framework without the fluff.

Kollman presents students with a simple framework―politics is about collective dilemmas and the institutions that solve them―and applies it consistently throughout. How can 535 members of Congress get anything done? What is the committee system? How can the president change the immigration policy? Can it be done through executive orders? Instead of burying concepts in history or minutiae, Kollman's concise text gets right to the heart of political science.

Ken Kollman is the Director of the Center for Political Studies, the Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor, and Professor of Political Science and Research Professor in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His research and teaching focus on political parties, elections, lobbying, and federal systems. He also regularly teaches the introductory American politics course at the University of Michigan. In addition to numerous articles, he has written Dynamic Partisanship: How and Why Voter Loyalties Change, with John E. Jackson (2021), The Formation of National Party Systems: Federalism and Party Competition in Canada, Great Britain, India, and the United States, with Pradeep K. Chhibber (2004), and Outside Lobbying: Public Opinion and Interest Group Strategies (1998).