Principles and Practice of American Politics : Classic and Contemporary Readings

by Kernell, Samuel; Smith, Steven S.

• ISBN13: 9781568025766
• ISBN10: 1568025769
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-05-01
• Publisher: Congressional Quarterly Inc

Summary

Principles and Practice of American Politics is an engaging collection of readings that balances "classics" of political science with more contemporary analyses of current politics and public policy. Kernell and Smith have drawn from a variety of sources and schools of thought to present a coherent collection. In addition, many selections are drawn from rich political sources such as the CQ Weekly that comparable readers cannot offer.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Designing Institutions	1	(58)
From The Logic of Collective Action	2	(13)
Mancur Olson, Jr.
In an excerpt from his classic work of 1965, Mancur Olson explains why groups often have difficulty achieving their collective goals, even when agreement among their members is widespread
From Analyzing Politics	15	(11)
Kenneth A. Shepsle
Mark S. Bonchek
Kenneth Shepsle and Mark Bonchek present possible remedies to various collective action problem
Everything Must Go!	26	(5)
Beth Dickey
Beth Dickey illustrates the government's efforts to translate a principle into practice by privatizing various functions and agencies of NASA
The Tragedy of the Commons	31	(14)
Garrett Hardin
In another classic work, Garrett Hardin uses the idea of the ``tragedy of the commons'' to explain why public goods are so often misused
Quotas Might Save both Fish and Fishers	45	(4)
John McQuaid
In an article from a Pulitzer winning series, John McQuaid portrays a real-life manifestation of the tragedy of the commons---the overuse of ocean fisheries---and describes the efforts of federal and state governments to remedy the problem
The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life	49	(10)
Robert D. Putnam
Robert Putnam stresses the importance of mutual trust in solving collective action problems
The Constitutional Framework	59	(25)
James Madison Explains the Constitution to Thomas Jefferson	60	(12)
In a letter to Jefferson, Madison relates the most important conflicts and decisions at the Constitutional Convention
Trading Votes at the Constitutional Convention	72	(12)
William Riker
William Riker's story of regional economic conflict at the Constitutional Convention illustrates how self-interested politics, as well as political theory, played a role in the framing of the Constitution
Federalism	84	(50)
The Rediscovery of American Federalism	85	(25)
Samuel Beer
Samuel Beer examines the tension between the concept of federalism and the notion that Americans have constituted themselves into a single, national community
Federalism as an Ideal Political Order and an Objective for Constitutional Reform	110	(10)
James M. Buchanan
Nobel laureate economist James M. Buchanan makes a case for federalism based on a ``market'' model of governments
Beyond the Welfare Clock	120	(8)
Jonathan Walters
Walters evaluates the impact of devolution in the area of welfare policy
The Federalization of Criminal Laws	128	(6)
John J. Mountjoy
John Mountjoy, providing a contrast to the case of welfare policy, explores the growth of laws federalizing crimes formerly considered to lie within the jurisdiction of the states and local communities
Civil Rights	134	(33)
Understanding Whites' Resistance to Affirmative Action	135	(18)
Laura Stoker
Laura Stoker reports the results of a survey experiment testing whether white voters who favor ending affirmative action policies are motivated by ideas of fairness or by racism
Desegregation Is Dead	153	(12)
Megan Twohey
Megan Twohey examines the countervailing social forces that appear to be reestablishing segregated schooling in many communities
High Court Upholds Minority Districts	165	(2)
Caroline E. Brown
Caroline Brown reports on a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the rights of states to create minority-majority congressional districts
Civil Liberties	167	(77)
The Mysterious Case of Establishment Clause Litigation: How Organized Litigants Foiled Legal Change	168	(33)
Joseph F. Kobylka
Joseph Kobylka investigates why the Supreme Court's religious establishment policy has not been responsive to its political environment
The Real World of Constitutional Rights: The Supreme Court and the Implementation of the Abortion Decisions	201	(34)
Gerald N. Rosenberg
Gerald Rosenberg examines the political and legal environment surrounding abortion policy, still a source of conflict thirty years after Roe v. Wade
Privacy, Please: Thinking about a Troublesome Concept	235	(9)
Richard A. Epstein
Richard Epstein argues against the extension of privacy rights by the courts on the grounds that those seeking the potentially restricted information often have a legitimate need to access it
Congress	244	(90)
The Senate in Bicameral Perspective	245	(27)
Richard F. Fenno, Jr.
Richard Fenno introduces the differences between the House and the Senate that originate in the Constitution and explores the implications of these differences for governing and campaigning
from Congress: The Electoral Connection	272	(10)
David R. Mayhew
In an excerpt from his classic work, David Mayhew argues that legislators' efforts to gain reelection produce predictable behavior while in office
Party Leaders and the New Legislative Process	282	(20)
Barbara Sinclair
Barbara Sinclair details recent changes in congressional policy making and provides a glimpse of how party leaders have adapted to the new policy-making environment
Toward More Accountable Members	302	(32)
Fred R. Harris
Former senator Fred Harris argues against imposing term limits on members of Congress
The Presidency	334	(51)
from Presidential Power	335	(24)
Richard E. Neustadt
Richard Neustadt shows that successful presidential leadership depends on the ability to persuade
from Going Public	359	(19)
Samuel Kernell
Samuel Kernell observes that modern presidents, in their efforts to persuade other politicians to adopt their policy preferences, often ``go public,'' a set of activities borrowed from presidential election campaigns
What Seemed Like a Good Idea Haunts the GOP Establishment	378	(7)
Gerald F. Seib
John Harwood
Gerald Seib and John Harwood describe how supporters of Texas governor George W. Bush's presidential bid adjusted the primary calendar and rules---in hopes of gaining an advantage for their candidate---and inadvertently created an opening for Sen. John McCain, nearly costing Bush the nomination
The Bureaucracy	385	(69)
from Bureaucracy: What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It	386	(26)
James Q. Wilson
James Wilson shows the causes and consequences of discretion and arbitrariness, and of rules and inefficiencies, in modern bureaucracies
The Politics of Bureaucratic Structure	412	(17)
Terry M. Moe
Terry Moe argues that the federal bureaucracy is not structured on the basis of a theory of public administration but instead is the product of politics
from The True Size of Government	429	(25)
Paul C. Light
Paul Light shows that government-contracted, private sector jobs have replaced many traditional government positions and explains the political forces behind the creation of the ``shadow government.''
The Judiciary	454	(48)
from The Choices Justices Make	455	(14)
Lee Epstein
Jack Knight
In a case study of the internal politics of the Supreme Court, Lee Epstein and Jack Knight explain how the strategic actions of justices influence their decisions
from The Supreme Court	469	(29)
Lawrence Baum
Lawrence Baum argues that Supreme Court justices often account for the likely response of other political institutions as they craft their decisions, in order to improve the chance that their prescriptions will be implemented
Why It's Getting Harder to Appoint Judges	498	(4)
Stuart Taylor, Jr.
After examining partisan battles over judicial appointments, Stuart Taylor concludes that the presidency and Congress have reached new heights of political intransigence
Public Opinion	502	(96)
Analyzing and Interpreting Polls	503	(32)
Herbert Asher
Herbert Asher explains the common ways that polls are misinterpreted and misused
Gender and Public Opinion	535	(21)
Kristi Andersen
Kristi Anderson reviews the recent history of gender differences in political opinion and behavior and describes how women's groups exploited early polling results
Disconnected Politics: Public Opinion and Presidents	556	(22)
Lyn Ragsdale
Lyn Ragsdale evaluates the implications of her finding that, as the influence of polls has grown, presidents have found public opinion both more important and less manageable
Dynamic Representation	578	(17)
James A. Stimson
Michael B. Mackuen
Robert S. Erikson
This important and creative study measures the correlation between public preferences and government behavior
Poll Positions: Leaders' Over Dependence on Public Opinion	595	(3)
Jean Bethke Elshtain
Jean Bethke Elshtain analyzes the question of whether leaders are too responsive to public opinion polls
Voting, Campaigns, and Elections	598	(25)
from The Reasoning Voter	599	(8)
Samuel L. Popkin
Samuel Popkin argues that, in a world of imperfect and incomplete information, voters rely on shortcuts to make decisions. His depiction of the decision-making processes of voters helps to explain the character of campaigns and other features of American politics
Rules of the Game	607	(9)
James A. Barnes
James Barnes outlines the causes and consequences of the ``frontloading'' of presidential primaries
Should Election Day Be a Holiday?	616	(7)
Martin P. Wattenberg
In scrutinizing a proposal to make election day a holiday, Martin Wattenberg provides a useful introduction to the problem of low voter turnout
Political Parties	623	(61)
from Why Parties?	624	(14)
John H. Aldrich
John Aldrich describes the political problems that parties solve for candidates and voters
National Party Organizations at the Century's End	638	(33)
Paul S. Herrnson
Paul Herrnson explains how American political parties have adapted to the new world of candidate-centered campaigns
Of Political Parties Great and Small	671	(13)
Everett Carll Ladd
Everett Carll Ladd challenges the conventional wisdom that modern political parties have become too weak
Interest Groups	684	(57)
The Scope and Bias of the Pressure System	685	(10)
E. E. Schattschneider
In a still-relevant piece from the 1960s, E. E. Schattschneider argues that moneyed interests dominated midcentury politics by controlling the agenda and influencing policymakers
The Evolution of Interest Groups	695	(9)
John R. Wright
John Wright surveys the development of interest groups in America, emphasizing the conflicting forces of collective action problems and societal disturbances
From Big Bird to Bill Gates: Organized Interests and the Emergence of Hyperpolitics	704	(14)
Allan J. Cigler
Burdett A. Loomis
Allan Cigler and Burdett Loomis explore the implications of the explosive growth of interests groups and of fundamental changes in interest group organization
The Money Culture	718	(23)
Elizabeth Drew
Elizabeth Drew argues that the influence of money has had a corrosive effect on American government and politics
The News Media	741	(1)
Is Journalism Hopelessly Cynical?	742	(10)
Michael Schudson
Michael Schudson explains how market forces and recent changes in journalism's character have contributed to a possibly irreversible trend toward ever-increasing cynicism
Market Research and the Audience for Political News	752	(22)
Doug Underwood
Doug Underwood analyzes the decrease in political news reporting available to the American public, exploring both supply and demand side factors
Beaten: Washington Bureaus Have Largely Abandoned Agencies	774	(9)
John Herbers
James McCartney
John Herbers and James McCartney describe the decline of the institution of beat reporting as Washington bureaus move to softer, topical reporting
Low Score	783
James B. Kelleher
James Kelleher recounts an instance in which the beat system failed to alert the public to important changes in federal education policy