How can political science help you understand the world you live in? Modern approaches to the study of politics analyze why Congress, the president, the courts, and other political actors do what they do. Learning to think critically about power, institutions, and rules helps citizens engage constructively in politics and the wider world around them and helps us systematically identify false claims, biases, and misconceptions. Analyzing American Democracy teaches students to think analytically by presenting current political science theories and research in answering the engaging, big questions facing American politics today. It serves as both an introduction to American politics and to the discipline of political science by reflecting the theoretical developments and empirical inquiry conducted by researchers. Every chapter highlights the most current research and discusses related public policy. It demonstrates for students how to think critically and analytically, bringing theoretical insight to contemporary American politics. More than just a comprehensive overview and description of how American politics works, Jon Bond and Kevin Smith demonstrate how politics can be studied systematically. Throughout the text, they introduce students to the insights gleaned from rational choice, behavioral, and biological approaches to politics. Understanding these three social scientific models and their applications helps students get the most out of their American government course and out of this text--they learn a way of thinking that they can use to make sense of future challenges facing the American polity. A number of features help aid comprehension and critical thinking: Key Questions at the start of every chapter frame the learning objectives and concepts "Thinking Analytically" boxes demonstrate how political scientists answer pressing questions about the American polity and model critical thinking "Applying the Frameworks" boxes show why theory is so important in making systematic sense of the political world "New Directions" boxes will highlight cutting edge research in political science to highlight some of the big contemporary questions the book addresses Tables, Figures, Charts, and Maps throughout present the empirical details of American politics, helping students gain quantitative literacy Top Ten Takeaway Points at the end of every chapter recap the most important points covered but also help students discern the general principles that make sense of the numerous factual details Key Terms are bolded in the text, defined in the margins, recapped at the end of the chapter, and compiled in a glossary, all to help insure that students can effortlessly master the vocabulary of American politics and political science in order to move on to the more important concepts. NEW TO THE SECOND EDITION Updated coverage throughout includes Affordable Care Act in the context of federalism Death penalty debates Affirmative action Racism, homophobia, and hate crimes in the wake of Ferguson Weakening of the Voting Rights Act Gay marriage history and new developments Tea Party and traditional party interface Campaign finance upheaval The changing Congressional landscape and increasing political polarization Updated tables, figures, and photos present the empirical details of American politics, helping students gain quantitative literacy Landmark court cases, now highlighted and linked to key concepts Refreshed feature boxes reinforce the book’s dedication to helping students understand the scientific approach to politics, incorporating intriguing new topics including genetics and public opinion, the biology of political participation, and evolution and the bureaucracy

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Grounded in basic political science research, yet readily accessible to undergraduates, PROMISE AND PERFORMANCE uses the title's theme as an organizing framework for studying American Politics. The promise of democracy is analyzed using four core values: Popular Sovereignty, Political Freedom, Political Equality and Majority Rule/Minority Rights and is further explored in several new features including "Living the Promise" and "Promise and Policy" boxes. The performance part of the theme is then integrated with an assessment at the end of every chapter along with a concluding policy chapter. Solid scholarship and writing makes this an ideal text not just for reading and learning, but also as an example of how political science is researched and written by the practitioners in academia.

From stem cell research to global warming, human cloning, evolution, and beyond, political debates about science in recent years have fallen into the familiar categories of America's culture wars. Imagining the Future explores the meaning of science and technology in American politics today. The science debates, Yuval Levin argues, expose the deepest strengths and greatest weaknesses of both the left and the right, and present serious challenges to American democratic self-government. What do arguments about embryos, climate, or the origins of man reveal about contemporary America? Why do issues involving science seem to divide us along the same fault lines as so many other issues in our political life? Is science morally neutral, or is it an endeavor filled with moral promise - and peril? Are American conservatives really waging war on science? Is the American left justified in calling itself the party of science? Most of the science debates, Levin concludes, are not about particular theories or facts or technologies. Rather, they come down to a profound dispute between liberals and conservatives about the right way to think about the future. Science is only one subject of this broader dispute; but today's science debates can illuminate the contours of our politics and clarify the rift at the heart of our polity.

Four distinguished scholars in political science analyze American democracy from a comparative point of view, exploring how the U.S. political system differs from that of thirty other democracies and what those differences ultimately mean for democratic performance. This essential text approaches the following institutions from a political engineering point of view: constitutions, electoral systems, and political parties, as well as legislative, executive, and judicial power. The text looks at democracies from around the world over a two-decade time frame. The result is not only a fresh view of the much-discussed theme of American exceptionalism but also an innovative approach to comparative politics that treats the United States as but one case among many. An ideal textbook for both American and comparative politics courses.

In recent years, scholars have argued that the ability of people to choose which channel they want to watch means that television news is just preaching to the choir, and doesn’t change any minds. However, this book shows that the media still has an enormous direct impact on American society and politics. While past research has emphasized the indirect effects of media content on attitudes – through priming or framing, for instance – Dan Cassino argues that past data on both the public opinion and the media side wasn’t detailed enough to uncover it. Using a combination of original national surveys, large scale content analysis of news coverage along with data sets as disparate as FBI gun background checks and campaign contribution records, Cassino discusses why it’s important to treat different media sources separately, estimating levels of ideological bias for television media sources as well as the differences in the topics that the various media sources cover. Taking this into account proves that exposure to some media sources can serve to actually make Americans less knowledgeable about current affairs, and more likely to buy into conspiracy theories. Even in an era of declining viewership, the media – especially Fox News – are shaping our society and our politics. This book documents how this is happening, and shows the consequences for Americans. The quality of journalism is more than an academic question: when coverage focuses on questionable topics, or political bias, there are consequences.

It begins by examining the roles of the basic actors in elections—voters, candidates, parties and interest groups—and the institutional process through which the actors move. The analytical techniques presented in the first part of the book are then applied to questions about the effects of money and the mass media on electoral outcomes, the extent to which elections can control errant officials, and the problems of measuring public opinion and preferences. Special attention is devoted to the unique issues involved in the congressional redistricting as well as presidential primaries and the Electoral College. The analysis is extended to consider the roles played my minor party and independent candidates and the problems minorities face in achieving representation in the American electoral process.