Synopses & Reviews
The Seventh Edition of Politics in America captures recent conflicts and how they affect our political system.
This balanced and exceedingly readable text uses Harold Laswell's classic definition of politics—“Who gets what, when, and how”—as a framework for presenting a clear, concise, and stimulating introduction to the American political system. Updated with discussions of recent events in our country, well-known political scientist Tom Dye has written a lively and absorbing narrative examining the struggle for power: the participants, the stakes, the processes, and the institutional arenas. An abundance of feature boxes explore timely issues and opinions, draw cross-cultural comparisons, and introduce important people.
Table of Contents
I. POLITICS. 1. Politics: Who Gets What, When, and How.
2. Political Culture: Ideas in Conflict.
II. CONSTITUTION. 3. The Constitution: Limiting Governmental Power.
4. Federalism: Dividing Governmental Power.
III. PARTICIPANTS. 5. Opinion and Participation: Thinking and Acting in Politics.
6. Mass Media: Setting the Political Agenda.
7. Political Parties: Organizing Politics.
8. Campaigns and Elections: Deciding Who Governs.
9. Interest Groups: Getting Their Share and More.
IV. INSTITUTIONS. 10. Congress: Politics on Capitol Hill.
11. The President: White House Politics.
12. The Bureaucracy: Bureaucratic Politics.
13. Courts: Judicial Politics.
V. OUTCOMES. 14. Politics and Personal Liberty.
15. Politics and Civil Rights.
16. Politics and the Economy.
17. Politics and Social Welfare.
18. Politics and National Security.