Controversies in American Politics and Society

by McKay, David; Houghton, David; Wroe, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9780631228950
• ISBN10: 0631228950
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-02-26
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Controversies in American Politics and Society provides students with up-to-date reviews of the main controversies in American politics and society. Designed particularly to complement David McKay's best-selling American Politics and Society (Fifth Edition, 2001), it can also be used alongside other similar texts, to supply a more in-depth discussion of key American political and social issues. The controversies are divided broadly into those involving the institutions and processes of government and those involving government policies. Some of the debates, such as abortion and gun control, are part of every day discourse, while others, such as the role of Federalism, are debated in the quality media and among academics. The book stimulates students' interest by offering a range of arguments for and against a particular position. In presenting the controversies, each of the three authors takes a considered position, while ensuring that the reader gains a full appreciation of all sides of the debate.

Author Biography

David McKay is Professor of Government at the University of Essex. He is the author or co-author of numerous books and papers on American and comparative politics, including the best-selling American Politics and Society (5th edition, Blackwell Publishers, 2001).

David Houghton is Lecturer in Government at the University of Essex. He is the author of papers on US foreign policy in leading journals and of the book US Foreign Policy and the Iran Hostage Crisis (2001).

Andrew Wroe is Research Fellow in the Department of Government at the University of Essex and the author of papers on anti-immigration movements in the US and related issues.

Table of Contents

List of tables and figures	viii
Introduction: Conflict and Controversy in American Society	1	(6)
Part I Institutions and Processes	7	(86)
Divided Government: Does it Matter?	9	(11)
David McKay
The causes of divided government	11	(3)
The consequences of divided government	14	(3)
But do the voters approve of divided government?	17	(3)
Trust in Government: a Crisis of Democracy?	20	(11)
Andrew Wroe
Performance	21	(3)
Political explanations	24	(3)
Socio-cultural explanations	27	(2)
Conclusion	29	(2)
Voting and Non-voting: America's Flawed Democracy?	31	(13)
David Houghton
Theories of voting behaviour	34	(3)
Theories of non-voting	37	(4)
A symptom of sickness or of health?	41	(3)
Campaign Finance Reform: Creating a Level Playing Field	44	(11)
David Houghton
The case against campaign finance reform	47	(1)
The case for campaign finance reform	48	(2)
Money and politics	50	(2)
Conclusion	52	(3)
Containing Presidential Power	55	(12)
David Houghton
The `imperial presidency' thesis	56	(1)
The `post-imperial presidency' and the `imperial Congress'	57	(2)
The War Powers Resolution	59	(2)
The Iran-Contra scandal	61	(3)
Conclusion	64	(3)
The Supreme Court: the Politics of Judicial Activism	67	(11)
David McKay
Activism, passivity and interpreting the constitution: the enduring debate	68	(1)
The Burger Court: confusion in the face of rapid social and political change?	69	(3)
The Rehnquist Court: conservatism revived?	72	(3)
Conclusion: should the Court continue its activist role?	75	(3)
Direct Democracy: Power to the People?	78	(15)
Andrew Wroe
The theoretical and historical debate in brief	82	(1)
The contemporary debate	82	(6)
Responsive or responsible laws, or both?	88	(2)
Conclusion	90	(3)
Part II Policies	93	(100)
Gun Control: the Right to Bear Arms	95	(11)
Andrew Wroe
Arguments for guns and against control	96	(3)
Arguments against guns and for control	99	(5)
Conclusion	104	(2)
Immigration: a Nation State or a State of Nations?	106	(12)
Andrew Wroe
The immigration debate: environmental arguments	108	(1)
The immigration debate: economic arguments	109	(3)
The immigration debate: cultural arguments	112	(4)
Conclusion	116	(2)
Affirmative Action: the Continuing Dilemma	118	(10)
Andrew Wroe
The history of affirmative action	118	(4)
The case for affirmative action	122	(1)
The case against affirmative action	123	(2)
Class-based affirmative action?	125	(1)
Conclusion	126	(2)
The Politics of Health Care: Anxiety and Plenty	128	(11)
David McKay
Self-reliance, health care and public expectations	128	(4)
The failure of the Clinton Health Care Plan	132	(2)
The health care controversy: an unending story?	134	(3)
The New Federalism, George W. Bush and the future of health care reform	137	(2)
Capital Punishment: the Politics of Retribution	139	(11)
David McKay
The death penalty in historical perspective	139	(3)
The courts and capital punishment	142	(2)
Capital punishment in the twenty-first century: the debate continues	144	(4)
The future of capital punishment	148	(2)
Welfare Reform: Providing for the Old but not for the Poor?	150	(11)
David McKay
The early days: `protecting soldiers and mothers'	151	(1)
Three failed reform attempts	151	(4)
The 1990s reforms: the end of welfare as we know it?	155	(2)
Welfare reform: has it worked?	157	(2)
Conclusion: Protecting the old but not the poor: the new American philosophy?	159	(2)
Abortion: the Right to Life Debate	161	(11)
Andrew Wroe
A brief history of abortion and the abortion issue	162	(1)
Roe v. Wade	163	(1)
The constitutional argument	164	(2)
Philosophy and science	166	(3)
The difficult cases: rape, incest and the death of the mother	169	(1)
Conclusion	170	(2)
Manifest Destiny and Realpolitik: Realism versus Idealism in Foreign Policy	172	(11)
David Houghton
The realist-idealist debate	172	(4)
The case for realism	176	(3)
The case for idealism	179	(2)
Conclusion	181	(2)
America as a Global Economic Player: Free Trade versus Protectionism	183	(10)
David Houghton
The Battle over NAFTA	185	(3)
The WTO and the `battle of Seattle'	188	(1)
The contemporary case for free trade and globalization	188	(1)
The case against free trade and globalization	189	(1)
A case of `doublethink'?	190	(3)
Further Reading	193	(7)
Index	200