The logic of American politics? Are those snickers from your students as they deride the phrase an oxymoron? By helping them see that political institutions and practices are imperfect solutions to collective action problems, distinguished scholars Samuel Kernell and Gary C. Jacobson—and new coauthor Thad Kousser—reveal a rationale to the U.S. political system and give students a window through which they can not only view American politics but also come to understand it.

Known for its engaging narrative, the book’s new edition continues to weave historical context, current politics, and analytic concepts into a text that gently strengthens students’ theoretical understanding while hooking them with great storytelling. In order to make the argument fully accessible to a student audience, the new edition highlights passages that apply the collective action and institutional design themes presented in the introduction.

The fourth edition has been revised and updated throughout, and will include full coverage of the 2008 elections. Two major developments in the new edition deserve special note:

• a new section in the first chapter introduces students to a “toolkit” of institutional design concepts—command, veto, agenda control, voting rules, delegation—and examples of how they work.With this toolkit, students learn the concepts for exploring America’s governmental system in later chapters.

• with a fully revised final chapter, Logic looks forward to assess the implications of its argument for widely promoted reforms of policy and institutions.

Tables, figures, photographs, cartoons, bolded key terms, a glossary, annotated reading lists, review questions, and exercises help illustrate core ideas and aid in review and study. A series of thematic boxes further the book’s analytic framework:

• Logic of Politics examines the design of various political institutions in light of the objectives they were intended to achieve.

• Strategy and Choice shows how officeholders and those seeking to influence them employ institutions to advance their goals.

• Politics to Policy highlights how public policies reflect the institutions that produce them and evaluate institutional capacity to solve the nation’s problems.

1. The Logic of American Politics

Part I. The Nationalization of Politics
2. The Constitution
3. Federalism
4. Civil Rights
5. Civil Liberties

Part II. The Institutions of Government
6. Congress
7. The Presidency
8. The Bureaucracy
9. The Federal Judiciary

Part III. The Public’s Influence on National Policy
10. Public Opinion
11. Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
12. Political Parties
13. Interest Groups
14. The News Media

Part IV. Conclusion
15. The Prospects for Institutional Reform

“The Logic of American Politics does a superb job. In addition to providing students with all of the ‘basics’ that they need, it provides an analytical framework that encourages students to move beyond the essentials and to grapple with fundamental questions concerning the operation of the American political system.”

"The Logic of American Politics is one of the most engaging American government textbooks on the market. Using a rational choice perspective the authors present important theoretical concepts, support their arguments with reliable empirical data, and ask tough normative questions about U.S. politics. The prose is highly readable and the authors use contemporary and historical examples to provide a kind of rich detail that is rare in a textbook. My students report that they appreciate this book because it is sophisticated, without being over their heads. The authors challenge students to think critically and the students respond."

Samuel Kernell is professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, where he has taught since 1977. Previously, he taught at the University of Mississippi and the University of Minnesota. Kernell’s research interests focus on the presidency and American political history. His books include Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership, 4th edition, Principles and Practice of American Politics: Classic and Contemporary Readings, 3rd edition (edited with Steven S. Smith), an edited collection of essays, James Madison: The Theory and Practice of Republican Government, and, with Gary C. Jacobson, The Logic of American Politics, 3rd edition and Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections, 2nd edition.

Gary C. Jacobson is professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, where he has taught since 1979. He previously taught at Trinity College, the University of California at Riverside, Yale University, and Stanford University. Jacobson specializes in the study of U.S. elections, parties, interest groups, and Congress. He is the author of Money in Congressional Elections, The Politics of Congressional Elections, 6th edition, and The Electoral Origins of Dividend Government: Competition in the U.S.House Elections, 1946-1988, and is coauthor with Samuel Kernell of Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections, 2nd edition. Jacobson is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Thad Kousser is associate professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego. He has served as a legislative aide in the California, New Mexico, and United States Senates. His publications include work on term limits, the initiative process, voting by mail, reapportionment, campaign finance laws, the blanket primary, health care policy, and European Parliament elections. He is the author of Term Limits and the Dismantling of State Legislative Professionalism, which won the APSA Legislative Studies Section’s Alan Rosenthal Prize, and the coeditor of The New Political Geography of California. He has been awarded the UCSD Academic Senate’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and serves as coeditor of the journal State Politics and Policy Quarterly.

Instructor’s Resources save time and ease class prep.
Available free to adopters, Instructor’s Resources include:
• Test Bank. With over 900 questions, separated into factual and conceptual multiple choice, short answer, and essay; available with Respondus software (compatible with course management systems).
• Figures, Tables, and Maps. The book’s graphics in PowerPoint and PDFs.
• PowerPoint slides. Highlighting of key concepts and instructor notes to enhance classroom presentation.
• CQ Weekly. A free 6-month online subscription to professors who adopt The Logic of American Politics (subject to minimum quantities).

Contact collegesales@cqpress.com for more information or visit college.cqpress.com and click on “Ancillaries for Download” for access.

Online student resources reinforce Logic’s themes and aid review.
LOGIC.CQPRESS.COM

This site combines valuable study materials with creative activities and useful materials that go far beyond the text.
• Logic News. In blog format with an RSS feed, recent news stories are linked to chapters and placed in analytical context, showing the book’s relevancy.
• Summary. Chapter wrap-ups.
• Review. Chapter objectives and review questions.
• Quiz. 25 multiple choice questions per chapter with immediate grading. 
• Flashcards. Viewable by definition or by word, with marking and reshuffling.
• Crossword. Vocabulary puzzles.
• Exercises. Research online resources and practice basic social science skills.
• Walk-throughs. PowerPoint slide shows walk students through key conceptual ideas with additional examples.
• Explore. Annotated Web resources.

The Logic of American Politics, 4th Edition + Issues for Debate in American Public Policy, 9th Edition Package

The Logic of American Politics, 4th Edition + Principles and Practice of American Politics, 3rd Edition package