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Examining the development of the process of presidential selection from the founding of the republic to the present day, James Ceaser contends that many of the major purposes of the selection system as it was formerly understood have been ignored by current reformers and modern scholars. In an attempt to reverse this trend, Professor Ceaser discusses the theories of selection offered by leading American statesmen from the Founders and Thomas Jefferson to Martin Van Buren and Woodrow Wilson. From these theories he identifies a set of criteria for a sound selection system that he then uses to analyze and evaluate the recent changes in the selection process. Five normative functions of a presid...
Election Reform: Politics and Policy is the definitive work on the manner in which policymakers responded to the crisis that emerged from the 2000 presidential election. Editors Daniel Palazzolo and James Ceaser address two fundamental questions: How did the states and Congress respond to the problems in election law and administration that became apparent in the 2000 election? What factors explain the variety of ways in which different states responded? Anyone interested in election crisis of 2000 and in the lessons learned from a major transformation of our electoral institutions will find this book essential reading.
Do political scientists in a liberal democracy bear a special responsibility that goes beyond their academic pursuits? Ceaser, a scholar of American political parties, argues that they do, and he challenges colleagues and students to reexamine what they do as political scientists. He observes that liberal democracy is a compound of two elements not easily wed: constitutionalism and republicanism. The role of political science is to perform the "superintendent" function of keeping these parts together.
In this inaugural volume of the Alexis de Tocqueville Lectures, Ceaser traces how certain “foundational” ideas—including nature, history, and religion—have been understood and used over the course of American history. Three commentators challenge his arguments, and a spirited debate about large and enduring questions in American politics ensues.
In Designing a Polity, James W. Ceaser, one of our leading scholars of American political development, argues for the continuing central role of the Founding within the study of American government. Drawing on essays published over the past 10 years, extensively updated and revised to reflect current politics, Ceaser engages the Founding Fathers, particularly James Madison, emphasizes Alexis de Tocqueville as a model of political inquiry, critiques current and recent theorists such as Richard Rorty and Jacques Derrida, and explores the varieties of contemporary conservative thought. Designing a Polity offers a rich exploration of the core values of political sciences that will be of special interest to scholars and students of American political development, Constitutional thought, and contemporary political thought.
With President George W. Bush's approval ratings at record lows, the 2008 election was a contest that Democrats were predicted to win. And with Barack Obama's victory over John McCain, they did. But it was the highly unlikely journey to this likely destination that set this presidential election apart from others.
In their fourth book on American elections, Ceaser and Busch explore the campaign, election, and aftermath of the 2004 election season. While the book focuses on the heated presidential campaign, it also includes analyses of the house and senate races. More than just a summary, Red Over Blue examines the theories behind the events and uses studies and data to explain why the election went the way it did.
As they have every four years since 1992, James W. Ceaser and Andrew E. Busch—joined in 2008 by John J. Pitney Jr.—once again provide the most comprehensive and authoritative account of the national election, including the presidential nomination process and election and congressional elections. As always Ceaser, Busch, and Pitney combine a concise account of the elections as well as its broader context for American politics and institutions.
For too many people, America has become the primary symbol of all that is grotesque, deadening, & oppressive. It is time, says James Ceaser in this provocative book, to take America back, to reaffirm confidence in our principles, & to remind ourselves that the real America-- as opposed to the symbolic one-- has forged a system of liberal democratic government that has shaped the destiny of the modern world.
In The Perfect Tie: The True Story of the 2000 Presidential Election, James W. Ceaser and Andrew E. Busch continue their study of national elections and their broader implications for American politics and society. With groundbreaking research of electoral politics and penetrating discussions of divided government, independent candidates, party platforms, realignment theory, the electoral college, and campaign strategies, Ceaser and Busch attempt to make sense of the 2000 presidential election. By separating myth from fact in presidential contests and by emphasizing the significance of frequently overlooked issues, such as foreign policy, this book is essential reading for courses in American Government, Campaigns and Elections, and Presidential Politics, as well as for any American interested in the real and lasting importance of the 2000 elections.