The new edition of this highly affordable Penguin Academic Series book provides a lively, engaging introduction to American government that now been updated to include complete coverage of the 2006 midterm elections, the campaigns and results, and the most relevant and important issues and events that have dominated the headlines and national dialogue throughout 2005 and 2006: the war in Iraq; the politics, policies, and fortunes of the second George W. Bush administration; the debate over illegal immigration; the new faces in and decisions from the Supreme Court; scandals and corruption with the executive and legislative branch, and more.
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.
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.
D. Stephen Voss is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kentucky, where he won the Alumni Association’s Great Teacher Award in 2003. He has authored or coauthored articles in various political science journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, and American Politics Research.
