You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
This inclusive study examines the extraordinarily high rates of political nonparticipation in the United States and the political, historical, institutional, and philosophical roots of such widespread apathy. To explain why individuals become committed to political apathy as a political role, Tom DeLuca begins by defining "the two faces of political apathy." The first, rooted in free will, properly places responsibility for nonparticipation in the political process on individuals. Political scientists and journalists, however, too often overlook a second, more insidious face of apathy--a condition created by institutional practices and social and cultural structures that limit participation ...
Dolbeare and Hubbell follow up this grim portrait with a provocative and credible vision of how a determined middle class could assert popular control over the big money, selfish politicians, and special interests that now dominate the American political system.
In this important and original book, J. Richard Piper provides the most comprehensive examination to date of the profound impact of ideological prescriptions on twentieth century American politics. Piper analyzes the institutional and constitutional developments associated with the American conservative-liberal paradigm from the New Deal to the present, focusing on constitutional jurisprudence, presidential-congressional relations, the role of the judiciary, federalism, and the administrative state. Concluding that America's competing constitutional philosophies frequently serve not as ends in themselves but as instruments for attaining power and policy goals, Piper raises significant questions about the future of the conservative-liberal dichotomy that has characterized American politics since the New Deal. Ideologies and Institutions is unique in its focus on institutional prescriptions and its integration and synthesis of extensive history, political science, and sociology literature. Anyone interested in constitutional issues, political history, and the distinctions between the liberal and conservative philosophies will find Ideologies and Institutions valuable.
Available as a single volume or as part of the 10 volume set Supreme Court in American Society
An analysis of American political history using the economic framework of public choice theory
State constitutions have become increasingly important in light of recent trends in jurisprudence that favor decentralizing the American federal system. Ex Uno Plura uses a political culture approach to explore eight state constitutional traditions. McHugh argues that state jurisprudence is not merely a reflection of the process, values, and decisions found at the federal level, especially through the influence of the Fourteenth Amendment. A close examination of separate state constitutions, including their origins, sociopolitical cultures, and jurisprudence, reveals historically, culturally, and philosophically unique characteristics, each of which will contribute to the ongoing debate concerning American judicial federalism. The states included are Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming.
Viewed alternately as an obstacle to justice, an impediment to efficient government, and a tool by which some groups gain benefits and privileges at the expense of others, public administration threatens to become the whipping boy of American government. In this innovative look at the nation's bureaucracy, Michael W. Spicer revisits the values of the Constitution in order to reconcile the administrative state to its many critics. Drawing on political and social philosophy, Spicer argues that there is a fundamental philosophical conflict over the role of reason in society between writers in public administration and the designers of the American Constitution. This examination of worldviews il...
No one can understand the complete tragedy of the American experience in Vietnam without reading this book. Nothing so underscores the ambivalence and confusion of the American commitment as does the composition of our fighting forces. The rich and the powerful may have supported the war initially, but they contributed little of themselves. That responsibility fell to the poor and the working class of America.--Senator George McGovern "Reminds us of the disturbing truth that some 80 percent of the 2.5 million enlisted men who served in Vietnam--out of 27 million men who reached draft age during the war--came from working-class and impoverished backgrounds. . . . Deals especially well with the apparent paradox that the working-class soldiers' families back home mainly opposed the antiwar movement, and for that matter so with few exceptions did the soldiers themselves.--New York Times Book Review "[Appy's] treatment of the subject makes it clear to his readers--almost as clear as it became for the soldiers in Vietnam--that class remains the tragic dividing wall between Americans.--Boston Globe
Organized to complement an introductory course in political science research methods, this work aims to help students understand research as it is actually practiced. Each chapter opens with an explanation of basic concepts and methods of political research.