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Contents

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The chapter headings below are hyperlinked to the full contents list for each chapter.

Chapter 1. Limited Government in the Age of High Expectations
Chapter 2. Beliefs, Values and American Society
Chapter 3. Constitutional Government
Chapter 4. Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations
Chapter 5. American Political Parties in Transition
Chapter 6. Political Participation and Electoral Behaviour
Chapter 7. US Legislators and Their Constituents
Chapter 8. Congress as Policy Maker
Chapter 9. Presidential Power
Chapter 10. The Federal Bureaucracy
Chapter 11. Organised Interests: The Real Power?
Chapter 12. The Supreme Court and Judicial Politics
Chapter 13. Regulating Morality - Civil Rights, Liberties and the Conscience Issues
Chapter 14. Social Policy in America - Self Reliance and State Dependence
Chapter 15. Managing Economic Change
Chapter 16. The American World Role
Chapter 17. The American Political System at the New Millennium

1. Limited Government in the Age of High Expectations

  • The chapters to come

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2. Beliefs, Values and American Society

  • The nature of American beliefs and values
    - liberty
    - equality
    - individualism
    - democracy and the rule of law
  • Values and American society
    - immigration and demographic change
    - economic change
    - social structure
    - income and wealth, race and ethnicity, gender, religion, region, communications
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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3. Constitutional Government

  • Origins
  • The American constitution
  • Ratification
  • The adaptive constitution
    - change by amendment
    - amendments affecting elections and office holders
    - amendments affecting the powers of the federal government
    - change by interpretation
  • Assessing the Constitution
  • Further Reading
  • Web resources

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4. Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations

  • Federalism in theory and practice
  • The evolution of American federalism
  • Fiscal federalism: the rise and fall of the federal role
    - the transformation of the federal role, 1930-1970
    - the 1970s: the high watermark of federal aid
    - the Reagan administration: federalism revived?
    - Bush and Clinton: a permanent change in the federal role?
  • A changing Court role?
  • The pressure for national standards
  • American federalism and public expectations
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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5. American Political Parties in Transition

  • The functions of parties
    - aggregation of demands
    - conciliation of groups in society
    - staffing the government
    - co-ordination of government institutions
    - promotion of political stability
  • Crisis and change in the American party system
  • Party decline?
  • Explaining party change
  • Towards the Millennium: a new role for political parties?
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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6. Political Participation and Electoral Behaviour

  • Patterns of American electoral behaviour
    - basic questions
    - the 'American Voter' model and the New Deal coalition
    - the decline of partisanship and the New Deal coalition
  • De-alignment, re-alignment and the modern American voter: where do we go from here?
  • Further trends in the American electorate
  • Non electoral political participation
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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7. US Legislators and Their Constituents

  • Representation and Congress
  • Congressional elections
    - the spread of direct primaries
    - the rise and decline of democratic dominance
    - regional change
    - the importance of money
  • Legislators as rational actors
  • The work of members of Congress
  • Conclusions
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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8. Congress as Policy Maker

  • The functions of Congress
  • The structure of power in Congress
  • Congress under fire
  • Reform and change in Congress
  • Conclusions: can Congress lead?
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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9. Presidential Power

  • Formal sources of power
  • Informal powers
    - agenda setter and national leader
    - world leader
  • The presidency in crisis
    - presidential selection
    - presidential selection: faults and foibles
  • The presidency in a changing America
    - the decline of parties and the rise of issue politics
    - the nationalisation of politics and society
    - the changing nature of American economic and military power
  • Presidential abuse of power and the congressional response
  • Presidential resources
    - the public
    - bureaucracy
    - personality
  • Assessing the presidency: presidential power at century's end
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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10. The Federal Bureaucracy

  • Organisation and function
  • The Bureaucracy: how uncontrollable?
  • The inherent power of bureaucracy
    - information
    - clientelism
  • The bureaucratic hydra: a uniquely American phenomenon?
    - iron triangles
    - issue networks
    - public choice and the principle/agent problem
  • Reform attempts
  • Concluding remarks
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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11. Organised Interests: The Real Power?

  • Interests, Groups and Lobbyists
  • Economic Groups
    - business
    - labour unions
    - the farmers
  • Professional groups
  • Promotional groups
  • Political action committees
  • The Washington lobby
  • Interest groups: for and against
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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12. The Supreme Court and Judicial Politics

  • The American legal system
  • The Supreme Court; decision making
  • The Court and political power
    - constitutional amendment
    - congressional control
    - presidential control
    - public and political opinion
    - lack of enforcement powers
  • Conclusions: the Court, the public and politics
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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13. Regulating Morality - Civil Rights, Liberties and the Conscience Issues

  • Introduction
  • Civil liberties
    - freedom of speech
    - criminal procedural rights
    - the establishment of religion
    - abortion
  • Equality and civil rights
    - racial and ethnic minorities
    - gender
    - disability
  • Conclusions
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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14. Social Policy in America - Self Reliance and State Dependence

  • The federal government and social welfare in America: the reluctant provider
    - federalism
    - social security, Medicare and the electoral connection
    - The continuing importance of self reliance
  • Health care reforms
  • Conclusions
  • Further reading
  • Website resources

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15. Managing Economic Change

  • State and economy in the United States
  • Ideology and economic policy
  • Institutions and economic policy
    - federalism and localism
    - the separation of powers
  • Conclusions: economic policy and public expectations
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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16. The American World Role

  • The institutional context
  • American foreign policy in the post cold war era
  • Conclusions
  • Further reading
  • Web resources

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17. The American Political System at the New Millennium

  • Assessing the American polity
    - institutional fragmentation
    - open government and pluralistic politics
  • Limited Government and Public Expectations
  • Reform and Renewal

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