This text offers a comprehensive and thought-provoking assessment of government, politics, and policy in the United States. Written by an international team of leading scholars and focused on the trends of the 1990s, this book sets the scene for a thorough understanding of American politics. Part One concentrates on the institutional framework of American government; Part Two examines the parties, pressure groups, and electoral system and the ways in which these dynamic forces channel public opinion and shape the political agenda; Part Three surveys both the substance and the process of public policy in three key areas--the economy, social policy, and foreign policy; Part Four provides overviews of some issues of contemporary political controversy--affirmative action, campaign finance reform, the role of the media, education, and city governance; Part Five assesses the state of American politics at the century's end.

This text offers a comprehensive and thought-provoking assessment of government, politics, and policy in the United States. Written by an international team of leading scholars and focused on the trends of the 1990s, this book sets the scene for a thorough understanding of American politics. Part One concentrates on the institutional framework of American government; Part Two examines the parties, pressure groups, and electoral system and the ways in which these dynamic forces channel public opinion and shape the political agenda; Part Three surveys both the substance and the process of public policy in three key areas--the economy, social policy, and foreign policy; Part Four provides overviews of some issues of contemporary political controversy--affirmative action, campaign finance reform, the role of the media, education, and city governance; Part Five assesses the state of American politics at the century's end.

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Preface
List of Contributors
List of Tables, Figures, and Maps
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms
Map of the United States of America

1. Introduction: The United States in the 1990s, Gillian Peele, Christopher J. Bailey, Bruce Cain, and B. Guy Peters

Part One: The Institutional Framework

2. The Presidency, Graham Wilson
A shrunken presidency?
Perspectives on the presidency
The significance of Clinton
Dimensions of disaster and triumph
Rebuilding a reputation
The Executive Branch presidency
"Ours is not a presidential system"
Implications for future presidents

3. Congress and Partisan Change, John E. Owens
Agenda change and partisan change
Institutional change
Republican Party government in the House
Change in the Senate
Explaining institutional change
Conclusions

4. The Supreme Court and the Constitution, Cornell W. Clayton and James Giordano
The Court's legal and political context
Judicial decision-making
The right to privacy and abortion
Equal protection and affirmative action
Church and state
Free expression
The separation of powers and federalism
The Justice Department and Clinton's legal policy
Lower-Court appointments
Conclusions

5. The Federal Bureaucracy, Patricia Ingraham
Assessment of the role and effectiveness of bureaucratic institutions
"Reinventing government"
Downsizing the American federal government
The administrative implications of policy devolution
The Government Performance and Results Act (1993)
Performance-based organizations
Conclusions

6. The Changing Federal System, Christopher J. Bailey
The dynamics of federalism
The politics of contemporary federalism
The "Devolution Revolution"
Conclusions

Part Two: Dynamics

7. Political Parties, Gillian Peele
An anti-party environment?
Perot and the third-party phenomenon
Ideology, issues, and the party response
The Democratic Party
The Republican Party
Republican presidential politics
The Republican Party in Congress
Republican governors
Party organization
Democratic organization
Republican organization
Candidates, campaigns, and money
Conclusions

8. Interest Groups in National Politics, Steve Reilly
Interest groups and organized interests
Organized interests in the 1990s
Think-tanks
Trends in strategy and tactics
Coalitions
Organized interests and campaign finance
The Internet
Conclusions

9. Electoral Politics, Bruce Cain and Allison Wegner
Volatility examined
Trends in state government
Republican gains and frustrations
The quest to control short-term forces

Part Three: Public Policy

10. Economic Policy, B. Guy Peters
The challenges of economic policy
The goals of economic policy
The instruments of economic policy
The public household
Emerging issues in the economy
The basic paradox: doing better and feeling worse
Macro-performance
Conclusion

11. Social Policy, Dilys M. Hill
The policy climate
Health care insurance for all
Welfare, work, and dependency
Conclusions

12. Foreign Policy, John Dumbrell
The Clinton Administration and post-Cold War internationalism
Republicans and foreign policy
Defense, intelligence and trade
Post-Cold War foreign policy-making
Conclusions

Part Four: Contemporary Issues

13. Education Policy, Jonathan Parker
State and local control of elementary and secondary education
The limited role of the federal government
The role of the courts
Education reform
Higher education
Prospects for the future

14. Affirmative Action and the Politics of Race, Richard L. Engstrom
Compensatory action as policy
White reactions to affirmative action
Affirmative action as a political issue
Affirmative action as a legal issue
The uncertain future of affirmative action

15. Campaign-finance Reform, Jason F. Kirksey
The 1996 elections
Prospects for campaign-finance reform
Conclusion: the structure of campaign-finance reform

16. The Regional City: Governance and Competitiveness in Pittsburgh, Brian D. Jacobs
Cities are important
Entrepreneurial cities
The competitive challenge in "America's new economy"
Pittsburgh: defending the base
Networked governance: overcoming fragmentation
Community empowerment
Conclusion

17. The Media and U.S. Politics, Philip John Davies
All's fair in love and war
The Hollywood sign: the fear and fascination of mass-media entertainment
Drawing a line in the sand: grandstanding against cultural threats
The media market
Segmentation of provision
The developing information environment
The traditional news media
The political campaign and the media
1996
Conclusions

Part Five: American Politics at the Century's End: An Overview

18. The American Political System in Transition to a New Century, Alan Ware
Evidence of turbulence and conflict
Would we have expected the 1990s to be an era of political conflict?
The sources of political conflict and turbulence
Antagonistic subcultures
The worsening position of the American worker
The impact of the end of the Cold War
Increasing ideological cohesion in the political parties
The consequences of political reform in the 1970s
The role of individual politicians
The future of the unquiet polity

Guide to Further Reading
Bibliography
Index