Approaching Democracy

Updated in a new 7th edition this book is organized around the evolving nature of the American experiment in democratic government. With a clear and compelling central theme this book provides the theory and basics of American political science as well as the nation's political history.

This book covers the foundations, institutions, and process of American democracy with a clear and relevant approach in an easily readable format. It sharpens the critical thinking skills needed to analyze these evolving relationships through its multitude of new critical thinking questions and timelines.

As long as people are people, democracy, in the full sense of the word, will always be no more than an ideal. In this sense, you too are merely approaching democracy but you have one great advantage: you have been approaching democracy uninterruptedly for more than 200 years -Vaclav Havel

These moving words spoken in an address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress by Vaclav Havel, a former dissident Czechoslovakian playwright once imprisoned by that country s Communist government and later elected its president aptly capture the theme of Berman and Murphy s seventh edition. Throughout this latest edition, the authors continue to use America s approach to a democratic ideal as the conceptual lens through which students can evaluate the performance of our political system, apply their critical thinking skills, and engage political discussion and civic life.

New to the Seventh Edition:

- A completely new pedagogical program has been implemented, making the text an even more effective learning tool:

o Each chapter is organized around learning objectives posed as questions to give students a precise understanding of the concepts they are meant to understand.

o A tiered system of short summaries and marginal questions appears throughout each chapter to help students master, apply, and analyze the material.

o Test Yourself quizzes appear at the conclusion of each chapter to aid student study and prepare them for exams.

- Approaching Democracy Timelines analyze the evolution of democracy over time. Approaching Democracy Checklists help students analyze a single event and apply the text s theme to it. Together, these new features provide students with a macro and micro view of the United States approach to a democratic ideal in every chapter.

- Compared to What? boxes offer an international dimension to the theme of approaching democracy.

- Each chapter has been updated to include coverage of the seismic changes that have taken place across the political landscape since the sixth edition published, including the election of Barack Obama, the sharp turns in policy implemented by his administration, the changes in the makeup and operations of the 111^th Congress, the nomination, confirmation, and appointment to the Supreme Court of Sonia Sotomayor, new information on public attitudes toward health care, gay marriage, gun control, and immigration reform, and much more. For detailed information on everything that is new to this edition, including chapter-by-chapter changes, please see pages xvi xix of the Preface.