The New American Democracy, with LP.com Version 2.0

Focusing on electoral forces, Mo Fiorina and Paul Peterson's groundbreaking text offers a stimulating, analytical approach to American government that engages students as it gives them a unique understanding of their popular influence in our system today. The accessibility of instant public opinion polls, the Internet, the ubiquitous nature of the news media, and the increasingly important role of interest groups—all of which Fiorina and Peterson use to demonstrate that America is moving toward a more popular democracy—have blurred the lines between campaigning and governing. Politicians today are constantly engaged in the campaign process—a “permanent campaign” that has affected how our government functions in profound ways. The Third Edition of this highly respected text has been brought completely up-to-date through September 11th, the war on terrorism, and the 2002 midterm elections, and it continues to be the only text available that addresses the fundamental shift in the way American government functions.

Table of Contents:
I. THE FOUNDATIONS OF A NEW AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.  1. Democracy in the United States.  2. Establishing a Constitutional Democracy.  3. Federalism: Division of Power Among National, State, and Local Governments.  4. America: Unity Amidst Diversity. II. THE INGREDIENTS OF THE NEW AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.  5. Public Opinion.  6. Individual Participation.  7. Interest-Group Participation in American Democracy.  8. Political Parties.  9. The Media. III. CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS. 10. Electing the President. 11. Choosing the Congress. IV. THE GOVERNMENT. 12. The Congress and Its Work. 13. The Presidency: Powers and Practice. 14. The Bureaucracy. 15. The Courts. V. CIVIL LIBERTIES AND CIVIL RIGHTS. 16. Civil Liberties. 17. Civil Rights. VI. PUBLIC POLICY. 18. Domestic Policy. 19. Economic Policy. 20. Foreign and Defense Policy. APPENDICES. The Declaration of Independence. The Constitution of the United States of America. The Federalist No. 10. The Federalist No. 51. Presidents of the United States of America.

About the Author :
Morris P. Fiorina is Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He received a B.A. from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester. Before moving to Stanford, he taught at the California Institute of Technology and Harvard University. Fiorina has written widely on American government and politics, with special emphasis on representation and elections. He has published numerous articles and five books: Representatives, Roll Calls, and Constituencies; Congress--Keystone of the Washington Establishment; Retrospective Voting in American National Elections; The Personal Vote: Constituency Service and Electoral Independence (coauthored with Bruce Cain and John Ferejohn); and Divided Government. He has served on the editorial boards of a dozen journals in the fields of political science, economics, law, and public policy; and from 1986 to 1990 he served as chairman of the Board of Overseers of the American National Election Studies. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In his leisure time, Fiorina favors physical activities, including hiking, fishing, and sports. Although his own athletic career never amounted to much, he has been a successful youth baseball coach for fifteen years. Among his most cherished honors is a plaque given by happy parents on the occasion of an undefeated Babe Ruth season. Paul E. Peterson is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and Director of the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University. He received his B.A. from Concordia College in Morrhead, Minnesota, and his Ph.D from the University of Chicago. Peterson is the author of numerous books and articles on federalism, urban politics, race relations, and public policy, including studies of education, welfare, and fiscal and foreign policy. He received the Woodrow Wilson Award from the American Political Science Association for his book City Limits (Chicago, 1981). In 1996 his book The Price of Federalism (Brookings, 1995) was given the Aaron Wildavsky Award for the best book on public policy. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. It is not only when writing a textbook that Peterson makes every effort to be as accurate as possible. On the tennis courts, he always makes correct line calls and has seldom been heard to hit a wrong note when tickling the ivories.