Appropriate as a supplement for American government or election courses, this text offers an overview of major issues in electoral politics. Some of the key topics examined include political participation, the role of money and the media, and the importance of political parties.Divided into nine chapters, "American Electoral Politics evaluates the degree to which American elections are democratic and suggests ways to close the gap between theory and political practice.Each chapter opens with a compelling vignette of a United States election.Pedagogy includes an end-of-chapter exercise, class discussion questions, and web site addresses for further exploration.The text offers suggested readings and an end-of-text glossary.Stephen J. Wayne is a respected presidency scholar and has advised many elected officials.
Stephen J. Wayne is a well known author and lecturer on the American presidency. A professor of government at Georgetown University since 1988 and a Washington-based insider for almost 40 years, Wayne has written or edited 11 books, many in multiple editions, authored over 100 articles, chapters, and reviews that have appeared in professional journals, scholarly compilations, newspapers, and magazines. At Georgetown, Wayne teaches courses in the area of American government, specializing on the presidency, and psychology and politics.
Professor Wayne is frequently quoted by White House journalists, regularly appears on television and radio news shows. He lectures widely at home and aboard to international visitors, college students, federal executives, and business leaders. He has testified before Congress on the subject of presidential elections and governance and before Democratic and Republican Party advisory committees on the presidential nomination processes. He served as a consultant on presidential staffing in the United States and abroad and participated in transition projects for the National Academy of Public Administration and the Presidency Research Group.