Who Governs? Democracy and Power in an American City, Second Edition

by Dahl, Robert A.; Rae, Douglas W.

• ISBN13: 9780300103922
• ISBN10: 0300103921
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-05-11
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

In this now-classic work, one of the most celebrated political scientists of the twentieth century offers a powerful interpretation of the location of political power in American urban communities. For this new edition, Robert A. Dahl has written a new Preface in which he reflects on Who Governs? more than four decades after its publication. And in a new Foreword, Douglas W. Rae offers an assessment of Dahl's achievement in this, Dahl's greatest and most influential book. "Dahl is never dogmatic, and never imagines that the world stands still to accommodate either the democratic ideal or his own pluralistic theory of city politics. . . .Who Governs? is Dahl's liveliest and most remarkable book."Douglas W. Rae, from the Foreword From reviews of the first edition: "A book that no one interested in politics can afford to ignore."Lewis A. Coser, Commentary "Anyone seriously concerned with current systematic political theory or with urban politics should read Who Governs?"Hugh Douglas Price, Political Science Quarterly "A sophisticated and undogmatic treatise on democratic politics."Heinz Eulau, American Political Science Review "Dahl has illuminated a central question in political science, the problem of how men can govern themselves in complex societies. . . . Who Governs? will become a classic."from the citation of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award

Author Biography

Robert A. Dahl is Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Yale University and past president of the American Political Science Association. He is the author of numerous books, including Polyarchy and Democracy and Its Critics, available in paperback from Yale University Press.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Second Edition by Douglas W. Rae	vii
Preface to the Second Edition	xi
Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xvii
1. The Nature of the Problem	1	(10)
EQUALITY AND INEQUALITY IN NEW HAVEN
Book I. From Oligarchy to Pluralism
2. The Patricians	11	(14)
3. The Entrepreneurs	25	(7)
4. The Ex-plebes	32	(20)
5. The New Men	52	(11)
6. Shadow and Substance: The Social and Economic Notables	63	(22)
7. Overview: From Cumulative to Dispersed Inequalities	85	(4)
Book II. The Distribution of Influence
8. Overview: The Ambiguity of Leadership	89	(15)
9. Leaders in Political Nominations	104	(11)
10. Leaders in Urban Redevelopment	115	(26)
11. Leaders in Public Education	141	(22)
12. Overview: Direct versus Indirect Influence	163	(6)
Book III. Patterns of Influence
13. Specialization of Influence: Subleaders	169	(12)
14. Specialization of Influence: Leaders	181	(3)
15. Five Patterns of Leadership	184	(6)
16. Pattern A: Spheres of Influence	190	(10)
17. Pattern B: The Executive-centered Coalition	200	(15)
18. Pattern C: Rival Sovereignties	215	(8)
PLURALIST DEMOCRACY: AN EXPLANATION
Book IV. The Distribution of Political Resources
19. On the Species Homo Politicus	223	(6)
20. Social Standing	229	(10)
21. Cash, Credit, and Wealth	239	(7)
22. Legality, Popularity, and Control over Jobs	246	(10)
23. Control over Sources of Information	256	(15)
Book V. The Use of Political Resources
24. Overview: Actual and Potential Influence	271	(5)
25. Citizenship without Politics	276	(6)
26. Variations on a Theme	282	(23)
Book VI. Stability and Change
27. Stability, Change, and the Professionals	305	(6)
28. Stability, Change, and the Democratic Creed	311
APPENDIXES
A. Comparison of New Haven with Other Urban Areas, 1950	329	(1)
B. Methods and Data	330	(11)
C. Indices and Social Position	341	(1)
D. Indices of Political Participation	342	(3)
List of tables and figures	345	(6)
Index	351