Getting beyond the traditional policy cycle discussed in most textbooks, the fully updated fourth edition of Politics and Public Policy offers a more comprehensive and realistic view of policymaking in the United States—one that looks beyond the jockeying between presidents and members of Congress, and explores the influence of corporate leaders, interest groups, bureaucrats, judges, and journalists. The book explores six distinct, yet connected, policy domains:

• Boardroom Politics (decisions by business leaders and professionals);
• Bureaucratic Politics (rule-making and adjudication by administrators);
• Cloakroom Politics (lawmaking by legislators);
• Chief Executive Politics (decision making by presidents, governors, mayors, and their advisers);
• Courtroom Politics (rulings by judges); and
• Living Room Politics (opinions expressed through the mass media, grassroots movements, political activists, and voters).

The authors’ unique framework prepares students to evaluate the strategies of various political actors within each domain. 

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

• More in-depth analysis and examination of:
  • the role interest groups play in shaping the public policy landscape;
  • how different types of media bring issues into the living room;
  • the Great Recession—its causes as well as actions taken by governments;
  • the policies of the Bush and Obama administrations, expanding the book’s coverage of current scholarship;
  • the results of state initiatives and referenda; and
  • the role of party polarization and its impact on the policy agenda.

KEY FEATURES:

• The book’s engaging and conversational writing style makes it easy for students to see how these domains produce different policies and outcomes.
• The authors place policymaking in the broader framework of political culture, corporate and economic influences, and politics—offering a more complete and accurate picture of the policy making process.

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

More in-depth analysis and examination of:

•  
  •  the role of interest groups play in shaping the public policy landscape.
  • how different types of media bring issues into the living room..
  • the Great Recession—its causes as well as actions taken by governments.
  • the policies of the Bush and Obama administrations, expanding the book’s coverage of current scholarship.
  • the results of state initiatives and referenda.
  • the role of party polarization and its impact on the policy agenda.

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Contact us at collegesales@cqpress.com if we may assist you in your book selection or if you have feedback to share. Thank you for your consideration of CQ Press books.

Donald C. Baumer is professor of Government at Smith College. He is coauthor of The Politics of Unemployment (with Carl Van Horn), Parties, Polarization and Democracy in the United States (with Howard Gold), and several articles on employment policy, Senate leadership, and public images of political parties.

Carl E. Van Horn is professor of public policy and the director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. He is the author of Working Scared (Or Not at All): The Lost Decade, Great Recession, and Restoring the Shattered American Dream (2013) and No One Left Behind: Economic Change and the American Worker (1996): and is the editor of The State of the States (2006).