An Analysis of Robert A. Dahl's Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City (The Macat Library)

"American political theorist Robert Dahl's 1961 work of political theory exhibits deep levels of creative thinking. When Dahl wrote, the American system of liberal democracy was generally considered to be shaped by a small group of powerful individuals who dominate because they are wealthy and influential. But by connecting the evidence in a new way in Who Governs? Dahl argued convincingly against this view. Dahl suggested that power is actually distributed among a number of competing groups, and that each of those groups seeks to influence decisions. He puts forward a definition of political power as the ability to make others do what you want them to, concluding that - while most people do not actively participate in politics and so do not exert a direct influence - power is still fragmented, and citizens do indirectly shape decision-making. Dahl's novel explanation of the existing evidence emerged from a study of three areas of policy-making in the city of New Haven: political nominations, urban redevelopment, and public education. His research revealed that different people wielded power in each area, and that only the mayor, whose power is checked by those who vote for him, was powerful in all three. These new connections allowed Dahl to arrive at fresh conclusions and convincingly demonstrated that the US operates a pluralist system in which power is divided between different interest groups."--Provided by publisher Cover 1 Title Page 2 Copyright Page 3 Contents 4 WAYS IN TO THE TEXT 10 Who Was Robert A. Dahl? 10 What Does Who Governs? Say? 11 Why Does Who Governs? Matter? 13 SECTION 1: INFLUENCES 15 Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context 16 Module 2: Academic Context 20 Module 3: The Problem 24 Module 4: The Author’s Contribution 28 SECTION 2: IDEAS 32 Module 5: Main Ideas 33 Module 6: Secondary Ideas 36 Module 7: Achievement 39 Module 8: Place in the Author’s Work 43 SECTION 3: IMPACT 47 Module 9: The First Responses 48 Module 10: The Evolving Debate 52 Module 11: Impact and Influence Today 56 Module 12: Where Next? 60 Glossary of Terms 64 People Mentioned in the Text 67 Works Cited 73 A game-changer when it was first published in 1961, Who Governs? remains one of the most influential political science books ever written. Dahl argues that American liberal democracy is a pluralist system in which policy is not, as is so often thought, shaped by a small group of powerful individuals. Rather, power is fragmented, with competing groups actively seeking to influence decisions and citizens indirectly shaping policy. As a case study, Dahl analyzed the decision-making process in New Haven, finding that only the mayor had power in all areas. Study of the city's highly competitive two-party system prompted Dahl to view the entire United States as Connecticut writ large.