| Preface |
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| About the Editors |
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Chapter 1 Designing Institutions |
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1 | (18) |
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1-1 Mancur Olson Jr., from The Logic of Collective Action |
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1 | (8) |
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In an excerpt from his classic work of 1965, Mancur Olson Jr. explains why groups often have difficulty achieving their collective goals, even when agreement among their members is widespread |
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1-2 Garrett Hardin, The Tragedy of the Commons |
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9 | (10) |
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In another classic work, Garrett Hardin uses the idea of the tragedy of the commons to explain why public goods are so often misused |
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Chapter 2 The Constitutional Framework |
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19 | (24) |
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2-1 James Madison, Federalist No. 10 |
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19 | (7) |
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James Madison argues that a large, diverse republic is not only capable of controlling the tyranny of faction but, when property designed, the best means of doing so |
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2-2 James Madison, Federalist No. 51 |
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26 | (1) |
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James Madison explains how the Constitution will employ checks and balances to prevent the people's representatives from exploiting their political power |
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2-3 Samuel Kernell, "The True Principles of Republican Government": Reassessing James Madison's Political Science |
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26 | (17) |
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Samuel Kernell considers the similarities and differences between James Madison's Federalist Numbers 10 and 51 |
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43 | (1) |
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3-1 Donald F. Kettl, Federalism: Sorting Out Who Does What |
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43 | (17) |
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Donald F. Kettl explores the lessons of recent natural disasters for understanding the ever-evolving division of power and responsibility between the state and federal governments |
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3-2 Thad Kousser, How America's "Devolution Revolution" Reshaped Its Federalism |
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60 | (21) |
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Thad Kousser considers how the devolution of power to the states has changed U.S. federalism |
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81 | (30) |
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4-1 Rebekah Herrick, Public Opinion and Minority Interests |
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81 | (22) |
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Rebekah Herrick reviews decades of public opinion data that have accumulated since the 1960s in assessing how opinions about minorities evolve over time |
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4-2 Justin Levitt, from New State Voting Laws: Barriers to the Ballot? |
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103 | (8) |
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This essay questions the integrity of recent changes to state voting laws that may make voting disproportionately more difficult for racial minorities |
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Chapter 5 Civil Liberties |
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111 | (34) |
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5-1 Jonathan Rauch, In Defense of Prejudice: Why Incendiary Speech Must Be Protected |
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111 | (7) |
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Jonathan Rauch states that efforts to limit "hate speech" do more harm than good. Instead, he argues, we must protect pluralism and reject purism |
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5-2 Supreme Court of the United States, Roe v. Wade |
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118 | (6) |
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In this controversial decision, the Supreme Court considers whether the Constitution protects a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy against the objections of the state |
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5-3 Gerald N. Rosenberg, The Real World of Constitutional Rights: The Supreme Court and the Implementation of the Abortion Decisions |
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124 | (21) |
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Gerald N. Rosenberg examines the political and legal environment surrounding abortion policy, which is stilt a source of conflict 30 years after Roe v. Wade |
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145 | (42) |
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6-1 Steven S. Smith, Congress, the Troubled Institution |
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145 | (16) |
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Steven S. Smith outlines major trends in congressional politics---the polarization of Congress, the abuse of congressional procedures by the parties, the flow of power from Congress to the president, and the low public esteem of Congress |
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6-2 Sarah A. Binder, Legislating in Polarized Times |
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161 | (10) |
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Sarah A. Binder outlines the effects of divided party control of the institutions of government and partisan polarization on the policymaking process |
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6-3 John H. Aldrich and David W. Rohde, Congressional Committees in a Continuing Partisan Era |
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171 | (16) |
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John H. Aldrich and David W. Rohde state that in an era of polarized parties, party leaders dominate standing committees in the policymaking process of the House of Representatives |
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187 | (32) |
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7-1 Richard E. Neustadt, from Presidential Power |
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187 | (14) |
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Richard E. Neustadt shows that successful presidential leadership depends on the ability to persuade |
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7-2 Samuel Kernell, from Going Public |
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201 | (12) |
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Samuel Kernell observes that modern presidents, in their efforts to persuade other politicians to adopt their policy preferences, often "go public": a set of activities borrowed from presidential election campaigns |
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7-3 Shirley Anne Warshaw, The Struggle to Govern in the Trump White House: Competing Power Centers, Personalities, and World Visions |
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213 | (6) |
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Shirley Anne Warshaw documents dysfunctional elements of President Trump's administration during its first, tumultuous year in office. Trump's topsy-turvy experience appears to confirm conventional wisdom everywhere the Trump White House has violated it |
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Chapter 8 The Bureaucracy |
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219 | (28) |
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8-1 Terry M. Moe, The Politics of Bureaucratic Structure |
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219 | (11) |
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Terry M. Moe argues that the federal bureaucracy is not structured on the basis of a theory of public administration but instead is the product of politics |
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8-2 David E. Lewis, from The Politics of Presidential Appointments |
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230 | (17) |
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This essay states that presidents' strategies for controlling federal departments and agencies have evolved in important ways in recent decades |
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247 | (26) |
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9-1 Antonin Scalia, from A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law |
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247 | (12) |
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In this lecture to law school students, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia makes a strong case for judges to limit their analysis to what laws say instead of exploring their intent |
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9-2 Stephen Breyer, from Active Liberty |
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259 | (9) |
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Antonin Scalia's colleague Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer argues instead that judges should weigh the implications of their decisions for advancing democracy |
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9-3 Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 78 |
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268 | (5) |
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While asserting that the unelected judiciary is the "least dangerous branch, "Alexander Hamilton assumes for the Supreme Court the important role of judicial review |
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Chapter 10 Public Opinion |
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273 | (36) |
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10-1 Herbert Asher, Analyzing and Interpreting Polls |
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273 | (20) |
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Herbert Asher explains the common ways that polls are misinterpreted and misused |
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10-2 Morris P. Fiorina, from Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America |
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293 | (7) |
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Morris P. Fiorina challenges the popular notion that Americans are becoming more deeply divided on cultural issues |
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10-3 Alan I. Abramowitz, The Polarized Electorate |
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300 | (9) |
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Alan I. Abramowitz argues that partisan polarization is real and affects the competitiveness of elections |
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Chapter 11 Voting, Campaigns, and Elections |
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309 | (44) |
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11-1 Samuel L. Popkin, from The Reasoning Voter |
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309 | (5) |
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Samuel L. Popkin argues that in a world of imperfect and incomplete information, voters rely on shortcuts to make decisions. His depiction of the decision-making processes of voters helps explain the characteristics of campaigns and other features of American politics |
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11-2 Gary C. Jacobson, No Compromise: The Electoral Origins of Legislative Gridlock |
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314 | (19) |
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Gary C. Jacobson describes the way partisan polarization and gridlock in American policymaking reflect the disparate electoral coalitions responsible for electing Democrats and Republicans to public office |
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11-3 Michael Schudson, America's Ignorant Voters |
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333 | (5) |
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Michael Schudson observes that American voters are not becoming less knowledgeable about government [ contrary to the conventional wisdom] and even without all the facts about politics, are able to make reasonable judgments about candidates |
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11-4 Betsy Sinclair, Steven S. Smith, and Patrick D. Tucker, The Fragile Trump Coalition |
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338 | (15) |
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This essay reports on the development of the Trump coalition over the primary and general election campaign season of 2016 and into the first year of Donald Trump's presidency, discussing the fractures in the policy views of Republicans and varying attitudes about Trump's personal qualities that pose challenges to Trump and his party |
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Chapter 12 Political Parties |
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353 | (30) |
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12-1 John H. Aldrich, from Why Parties? |
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353 | (9) |
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John H. Aldrich describes the political problems that parties solve for candidates and voters |
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12-2 Lee Drutman, Doom-Loop Partisanship |
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362 | (10) |
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Lee Drutman addresses one of the major challenges to democratic politics in modern America---how to use political parties to enhance choice and accountability while avoiding extreme partisanship that can undermine the viability of political institutions |
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12-3 Morris P. Fiorina, Parties as Problem Solvers |
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372 | (11) |
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According to Morris P. Fiorina, today's centralized, cohesive parties are no better at solving today's problems than were the decentralized, disunited parties of a half century ago and may even make them worse |
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Chapter 13 Interest Groups |
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383 | (22) |
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13-1 E. E. Schattschneider, The Scope and Bias of the Pressure System |
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383 | (6) |
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In a still-relevant piece from the 1960s, E. E. Schattschneider argues that moneyed interests dominated midcentury politics by controlling the agenda and influencing policymakers |
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13-2 Jennifer Nicoll Victor, Gridlock Lobbying: Breaking, Creating, and Maintaining Legislative Stalemate |
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389 | (16) |
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Jennifer Nicoll Victor shows how the model of a liberal-to-conservative continuum can be used to help understand how lobbyists for interest groups adjust their strategies to the policy preferences of legislators and presidents |
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405 | (19) |
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14-1 Hunt Allcott and Matthew Gentzkow, Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election |
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405 | (13) |
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Hunt Allcott and Matthew Gentzkow demonstrate the large role of social media in distributing fake news and drawing people to websites with fake news stories |
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14-2 Alexis C. Madrigal, What Facebook Did to American Democracy |
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418 | (6) |
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This article explores the effects of modern communication technology---specifically, the social media website Facebook---on American politics |
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| Appendix: Constitution of the United States |
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