Politics USA is a lively and authoritative introduction to American politics, giving students a rich and varied resource for all aspects of their course. The book provides expert and comprehensive analysis of US politics and government, including in-depth coverage of the presidency, the Congress, the Supreme Court and American foreign policy.
This third edition of Politics USA has been thoroughly updated to include analysis of
- Challenges and policies of the first Obama administration
- Recent results and developments in US elections
- Latest major decisions of the US Supreme Court
- Contemporary American Foreign Policy
This is an ideal introduction for students of US politics as well as anyone seeking to understand any or all aspects of politics in one of the world’s most powerful and globally influential countries.
Chapter 1 Introduction - A troubled nation
Part 1 The constitutional dimension of American politics
Chapter 2 The Constitution and constitutionalism
Chapter 3 Federalism
Part 2 The socio-economic contexts
Chapter 4 The rise and fall of consensus since 1945
Chapter 5 Economy and society
Chapter 6 Gender and American politics
Chapter 7 Race, ethnicity and immigration in the USA
Part 3 The representative process
Chapter 8 Elections and voting behaviour
Chapter 9 The mass media and politics
Chapter 10 Political parties
Chapter 11 Interest groups, political committees and campaigns
Part 4 The executive process
Chapter 12 Presidential power
Chapter 13 The federal bureaucracy
Part 5 The legislative process
Chapter 14 Congress and the president
Chapter 15 Congressional structures and processes
Part 6 The judicial process
Chapter 16 The Supreme Court and judicial review
Chapter 17 The Supreme Court and American politics
Part 7 The policy process
Chapter 18 Serving the people: government and domestic policy
Chapter 19 Abortion
Chapter 20 Foreign policy
Chapter 21 Contemporary US foreign policy
Index
Biography
Robert McKeever is one of UK’s leading scholars of American politics and its foremost specialist on the United States Supreme Court. He is Dean of the Faculty of Law, Governance, and International Relations at London Metropolitan University and has written extensively on constitutional politics, including most recently on the judicial legacy of George W. Bush and abortion rights in the United States and Canada.
Philip Davies is Director of the Eccles Centre for American Studies at the British Library and President of the European Association for American Studies. He has authored, co-authored, and edited some 30 books and published more than 100 articles and book chapters on aspects of US politics and society.
"The new edition of Politics USA is an outstanding achievement. The authors have produced a reliable, sophisticated and incisive guide which will be indispensable to all serious students of American politics."
- John Dumbrell, Professor of Government, Durham University"Politics USA is a first-rate survey of American politics and government. It is clearly written, very accessible and engaging in its analysis of contemporary and recent political issues."
- Iwan Morgan, Professor of US Studies, Institute for the Study of the Americas"In this authoritative volume, McKeever and Davies combine a sophisticated coverage of the fundamentals of US history, government and politics with an insightful analysis of the profound impact 9/11 has had on US governance."
- James P. Pfiffner, Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University
