Government and Politics of the United States (Comparative Government and Politics)

This extensively revised new edition offers a broad-ranging, systematic and sophisticated introduction contemplating the institutions and processes of government in the US set in a clear historical context. Cover Contents List of Illustrative Material List of Abbreviations Preface to the Third Edition and Acknowledgements Preface to the First Edition and Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 Beliefs and Values in American Society Values and American society The diversity of American society The core values within American political culture Conflict and consensus within American society Conclusion Chapter 2 The Constitution: Creating the Rules of the Game Why the Constitution matters The creation of a new republic The Constitutional Convention: the great compromise The core principles of the Federal Constitution The core structural features of the Constitutional settlement: horizontal and vertical separation The Constitution and the Bill of Rights Changing the Constitution through judicial interpretation Conclusion Chapter 3 Political Parties: The Politics of Aggregation and Disaggregation The nature of American parties The development of the American two-party system Parties as organizations Parties in the electorate Parties in government The resurgence of parties Conclusion Chapter 4 Elections and the Politics of Participation Who votes and who does not How Americans run for election How Americans vote Who wins and why Conclusion Chapter 5 The Presidency and the Politics of Leadership Presidential leadership The powers of the presidency The presidency and the mass media The vice-presidency Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and the modern presidency The obligation to bargain The presidency and the executive branch The presidency and Congress Conclusion Chapter 6 Congress and the Politics of Legislative Competition Procedural and structural dimensions The bicameral dimension The institutional dimension The individual dimension The specialized and fissiparous dimension The aggregative and collective dimension Party organization in the House Party organization in the Senate Party and voting Caucuses The procedural dimension Legislation in the House Legislation in the Senate Conclusion Chapter 7 The Supreme Court and the Politics of Adjudication The organization and role of the judiciary The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction Procedure Judicial review The Supreme Court and the elected branches Chief justices and leadership of the Court Conclusion Chapter 8 Interest Groups Interest groups: opportunities and constraints Interest groups and access to government Participants in the interest industry Classifying interest groups Evaluating interest groups Conclusion Chapter 9 Bureaucracy: The Fourth Branch of Government The institutional setting of the Fourth Branch The federal civil service Reforming the civil service The growth of federal regulation Bureaucratic structure and organization Administrative law Congressional control of the bureaucracy Presidential control and the problems of bureaucracy Conclusion Chapter 10 Federalism and Intergovernmental Policy- Making Federalism: theory and structure The development of the constitutional law of federalism Federalism: structure and process of intergovernmental fiscal and policy relations Cooperative federalism Nixon, Reagan and the new federalisms Conclusion Chapter 11 Domestic Economic Policy The economic policy process Participants in economy policy-making Monetary policy: the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks Objects and processes of economic policy-making Processes of economic policy-making: an assessment Conclusion Chapter 12 Foreign and Defence Policy Foreign policy, defence policy and the national interest Institutional participants in foreign and defence policy Processes of foreign and defence policy-making Conclusion Conclusion Appendix 1 The Constitution of the United States, Bill of Rights and Later Amendments Appendix 2 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States Appendix 3 Constitutional Allocation of Powers over Foreign and Defence Policy Further Reading Bibliography Index This extensively revised and updated new edition of one of the leading texts in its field provides a comprehensive and wide-ranging introduction to the contemporary institutions and processes of government in the United States, it sets American politics in Its historical context, and gives detailed coverage of the evolution of the constitutional and legal framework within which government operates. It examines each of the branches of government - executive, legislative, judicial - as well as the de facto fourth branch of the bureaucracy. St also assesses the relationship between federal, regional and state politics, including issues such as the challenges of partisanship and policy-making, and the question of how to interpret - and implement - the Constitution. The often contested and divisive issues at the heart of political debate in the United States are explored throughout - from healthcare to the national debt, from gun control to immigration - as the authors highlight the distinctive features of American government and politics today while giving due attention to their context and development. Book jacket Nigel Bowles And Robert K. Mcmahon. Previous Edition: 1998. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 455-467) And Index.