American Politics and Society

• Autore: McKay David
• Pubblicazione: Hoboken : , : John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, , 2013; ©2013
• Edizione: 8th ed.
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (522 pages)
• Disciplina: 320.973
• Soggetto topico: United States - Politics and government
• Soggetto genere / forma: Electronic books.
• Nota di contenuto: Intro -- American Politics and Society -- Copyright -- Brief Contents -- Contents -- List of Plates -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Preface to the Eighth Edition -- Chapter 1 Government and the People in a Polarized Society -- The Chapters to Come -- Glossary -- Note -- Chapter 2 Beliefs, Values and American Society -- The Nature of American Beliefs and Values -- Liberty -- Equality -- Individualism -- Democracy, populism and the rule of law -- Values and American Society -- Immigration and demographic change -- Controversy 1 Immigration: The Changing Nature of the Debate -- Economic change -- Controversy 2 How Classless Is American Society? -- Controversy 3 Americans' Ambivalent View of Government and Taxes -- Social Structure -- Income and wealth -- Race and ethnicity -- Gender -- Religion -- Region -- Communications -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 3 Constitutional Government -- Origins -- The American Constitution -- Biographies Hamilton and Madison -- Ratification -- The Adaptive Constitution -- Change by amendment -- Amendments affecting elections and officeholders -- Amendments affecting the powers of the federal government -- Change by interpretation -- Assessing the Constitution -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 4 Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations -- Federalism in Theory and Practice -- The Evolution of American Federalism -- The Changing Federal Role -- The transformation of the federal role, 1930-1970 -- Controversy 3 Federal versus State Power -- The 1970s: the high-water mark of federal aid -- The Reagan administration: federalism revived? -- Briefing US Federalism in Comparative Perspective -- George H. W. Bush and Clinton: an adapting federal role? -- George W. Bush: a 'fair weather' federalist?. ; Barack Obama: back to the 1960s? -- A Changing Court Role? -- The Future of American Federalism -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 5 American Political Parties and the Politics of Polarization -- The Functions of Parties -- Aggregation of demands -- Conciliation of groups in society -- Staffing the government -- Coordination of government institutions -- Promotion of political stability -- Briefing Why Only Two Parties in the US? -- Crisis and Change in the American Party System -- The Decline and Rise of Political Parties -- Biographies Lee Atwater and Karl Rove - Republican Party 'Heavies' -- Changing Party Ideology: 1970-2013 -- Explaining Party Change -- Stronger but more Polarized Parties -- Briefing The Rise of the Tea Party Movement -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 6 Elections and Political Participation -- Patterns of American Electoral Behaviour -- Basic questions -- The 'American Voter' Model and the New Deal Coalition -- The Decline of the New Deal Coalition and the Rise of a Divided Electorate -- Partisanship declines - and rises -- Controversy 4 Non-Voting: Does it Matter? -- Controversy 5 Are American Elections Corrupt? -- Partisanship revives -- Controversy 6 Does the Decline in Social Capital Matter? -- Non-Electoral Political Participation -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 7 The Media and American Politics -- Media Structure and Organization -- The growth of the mass media -- Organization and Ownership -- Television and radio -- Newsprint -- How Biased? The Media and the Political Agenda -- Television and radio -- Newsprint -- The internet -- Controversy 7 How Biased Are Television and Radio? -- Controlling the Media -- The Media and American Democracy -- Summary. ; Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 8 Congress I: The People's Branch? -- Representation and Congress -- Briefing Forms of Representation -- Congressional Elections -- The spread of direct primaries -- Changing partisan control -- Regional change -- The importance of money -- Biography Michele Bachmann, Tea Party Firebrand -- Legislators as Rational Actors -- The Work of Members of Congress -- Conclusions -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 9 Congress II: Functions and Powers - The Broken Branch? -- The Functions of Congress -- The Structure of Power in Congress -- Congress Under Fire -- Critique 1: fragmentation and the electoral connection -- Critique 2: failure of oversight -- Biography Jack Abramoff: Master Lobbyist and Convicted Felon -- Controversy 8 Divided Government: For and Against -- Biography John Murtha, King of Pork -- Reform and Change in Congress -- Is Congress the 'Broken Branch'? -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 10 The Presidency I: Powers and Selection -- Formal Sources of Power -- Informal Powers -- Party leader -- Agenda-setter and national leader -- World leader -- Presidential Selection -- Pre-primary -- The primaries -- Controversy 9 Primaries: For and Against -- Briefing The Role of Money -- The nominating conventions -- The campaign -- Presidential Selection: Faults and Foibles -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 11 The Presidency II: The President as Chief Executive -- The Presidency in a Changing America -- The changing role of parties and the rise of issue and ideological politics -- The nationalization of politics and society -- The changing nature of American economic and political power. ; Presidential Abuse of Power and the Congressional Response -- Presidential Resources -- The public -- Briefing Organizing the White House -- Bureaucracy -- Personality -- Assessing the Presidency: Presidential Power at Home and Abroad -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 12 Bureaucratic Power: Federal Departments and Agencies -- The Federal Bureaucracy: Organization and Function -- Controversy 10 Privatization: For and Against -- The Bureaucracy: How Uncontrollable? -- The Inherent Power of Bureaucracy -- Information -- Clientelism -- The Bureaucratic Hydra: A Uniquely American Phenomenon? -- Iron triangles -- Issue networks -- Public choice and the principal-agent problem -- Reform Attempts -- Concluding Remarks -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 13 The Security State -- The Rise of the Security State -- 9/11, the Patriot Act and the Department of Homeland Security -- Briefing The Department of Homeland Security and the Culture of Threat -- Threats to Civil Liberties -- The Security State and American Values -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 14 Organized Interests The Real Power? -- Interests, Groups and Lobbyists -- Economic Groups -- Business -- Briefing The Enron Collapse and Crony Capitalism -- Controversy 11 D o the Bankruptcy Laws Damage Workers' Rights? -- Labour unions -- The farmers -- Professional Groups -- Promotional Groups -- Political Action Committees -- The Washington Lobby -- Interest Groups: For and Against -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 15 The Supreme Court and Judicial Politics -- The American Legal System -- The Supreme Court: Decision-Making -- The Supreme Court and Political Power -- Constitutional amendment. ; Congressional control -- Presidential control -- Controversy 12 The Supreme Court: An Activeor a Passive Role? -- Public and political opinion -- Briefing The Supreme Court and the Guantánamo Bay Detainees -- Lack of enforcement powers -- The Polarized Rehnquist and Roberts Courts -- Conclusions: The Court and American Democracy -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Notes -- Further Reading -- Chapter 16 Regulating Morality: Civil Rights, Liberties and the Conscience Issues -- Introduction -- Regulating Public Morality -- Civil Liberties -- Freedom of speech -- Criminal procedural rights -- The establishment of religion -- Abortion -- Controversy 13 What's So Wrong with Gun Control? -- Briefing Abortion and American Politics -- Equality and Civil Rights -- Racial and ethnic minorities -- Gender -- Disability -- Sexual preference -- Briefing Federalism and Same-Sex Marriage -- Conclusions -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Note -- Further Reading -- Chapter 17 Social Policy in America: Self-Reliance and State Dependence -- The Federal Government and Social Welfare in America: The Reluctant Provider -- Federalism -- Social Security, Medicare and the Electoral Connection -- The Continuing Importance of Self-Reliance -- Briefing Why Was Health Care So Hard to Reform? -- Health-Care Reforms -- The Federal Government and Education -- Conclusions -- Summary -- Questions for Discussion -- Glossary -- Further Reading -- Chapter 18 Managing Economic Change -- State and Economy in the United States -- Ideology and Economic Policy -- Controversy 14 Foreign Economic Policy: Is Free Trade Always Beneficial for US Industry? -- Institutions and Economic Policy -- Federalism and localism -- Separation of powers -- Briefing Institutional Sclerosis and the Budget, 2011-2013 -- Briefing The Great Housing Crash, 2007-2012. ; Conclusions: Economic Policy in an Age of Uncertainty.
• Sommario/riassunto: Now in its eighth edition, this popular introduction tackles the most recent trends in American politics and society through explanation, analyses, and interpretations of government processes - adding valuable context for students by considering these procedures and developments from an international perspective. Fully updated to take account of the many recent developments in American politics and society - exploring one of the most turbulent political arenas witnessed in decades Features new chapters on environmental politics and the Obama presidency Shifts its focus from the gap between public expectations and government performance to the increasingly divisive ideological climate of America's political system Benefits from a student-friendly style and design with numerous illustrations and a range of helpful pedagogical features, including chronologies, biographies, and definition boxes highlighting key concepts and controversial issues Offers thought-provoking insights into the social background to contemporary politics in America, while fully embracing the latest developments and considering these from a non-U.S. perspective.
• Titolo autorizzato: American Politics and Society
• ISBN: 9781118261903; 9780470672631
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Record Nr.: 9910795808903321
• Lo trovi qui: Univ. Federico II