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The Logic of American Politics
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The Logic of American Politics

Twelfth Edition


April 2025 | CQ Press
Why does the American political system work the way it does?

After observing the strains of intense partisanship and divided government, many Americans are wondering what logic, if any, can be found in politics. With both sides of the political spectrum being so different from one another and the scales often tipping in the favor of the opposing party by a fraction of a percentage point, how can anyone work the system to their advantage?

With fresh analysis of the 2024 presidential election results, the bestselling textbook The Logic of American Politics provides students with the tools they need to make sense of the government they have. Weaving together historical context, contemporary politics, and a "toolkit" of institutional design concepts, the Twelfth Edition builds students' understanding of political institutions and practices as imperfect solutions to collective action problems.
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
A Note to Students
 
Chapter 1 The Logic of American Politics
The Importance of Institutional Design

 
Constitutions and Governments

 
Collective Action Problems

 
The Costs of Collective Action

 
Representative Government

 
The Work of Government

 
Conclusion: Collective Action and America’s Constitution

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Part I The Nationalization of Politics
 
Chapter 2 The Constitution
The Road to Independence

 
America’s First Constitution: The Articles of Confederation

 
Drafting a New Constitution

 
Features of the Constitution

 
Substantive Issues

 
The Fight for Ratification

 
The Theory Underlying the Constitution

 
Designing Institutions for Collective Action: The Framers’ Tool Kit

 
Assessing the Constitution’s Performance in Today’s American Politics

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 3 Federalism
American-Style Federalism

 
Federalism and the Constitution

 
The Paths to Nationalization

 
Modern Federalism

 
Evolving Federalism: A By-product of National Policy

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 4 Civil Rights
Civil Rights versus Civil Liberties

 
The Civil Rights of African Americans

 
The Politics of Black Civil Rights

 
The Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement

 
Challenging Tyranny

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 5 Civil Liberties
Nationalization of Civil Liberties

 
Writing Rights and Liberties into the Constitution

 
Freedom of Speech

 
Freedom of the Press

 
Freedom of Religion

 
Gun Rights

 
Criminal Rights

 
Privacy

 
Civil Liberties as Public Policy

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Part II The Institutions of Government
 
Chapter 6 Congress
Congress in the Constitution

 
Congress and Electoral Politics

 
Who Serves in Congress?

 
Basic Problems of Legislative Organization

 
Organizing Congress

 
Making Laws

 
Evaluating Congress

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 7 The Presidency
The Historical Presidency

 
The Modern Presidency

 
The President as Commander in Chief and Head of State

 
The President as Chief Executive

 
The President as Legislator

 
Going Public

 
The Institutional Presidency

 
Conclusion

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 8 The Bureaucracy
The Development of the Federal Bureaucracy

 
An Expanding Government

 
Bureaucracy in Action

 
Who Controls the Bureaucracy?

 
Bureaucratic Reform: A Hardy Perennial

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 9 The Federal Judiciary
Setting the Stage for Judicial Review

 
Three Eras of the Court’s Judicial Review

 
The Structure of the Federal Judiciary

 
Judicial Decision-Making

 
The Supreme Court’s Place in the Separation of Powers

 
Judicial Ethics and the Supreme Court

 
Does a Politicized Judiciary Alter Separation of Powers?

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Part III The Public’s Influence on National Policy
 
Chapter 10 Public Opinion
What Is Public Opinion?

 
Measuring Public Opinion

 
The Influences and Determinants of Public Opinion

 
Is Public Opinion Meaningful?

 
Current Public Opinion

 
Effects of Background on Public Opinion

 
Public Opinion: A Vital Component of American Politics

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 11 Voting, Campaigns, and Elections
The Logic of Elections

 
The Slow Expansion of the Right to Vote

 
Who Uses the Right to Vote?

 
The Basic Necessities of Election Campaigns: Candidates and Messages

 
Campaign Money

 
The Logic of Elections Revisited

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 12 Political Parties
The Constitution’s Unwanted Offspring

 
Development and Evolution of the Party Systems

 
Revival of the Parties: A Sixth Party System?

 
Expediency Persists

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 13 Interest Groups
The Logic of Lobbying

 
The Origins of Interest Group Politics in the United States

 
Contemporary Interest Groups

 
What Do Interest Groups Do?

 
Interest Groups and Elections

 
Interest Group Politics: Controversial and Thriving

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Chapter 14 Media
The Development of the News Business

 
Legacy News as a Consumer Product: How the News Gets “Made”

 
Demand for and Effects of News

 
News Media as the “Fourth Branch”

 
Politician–Press Relations Then and Now

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Part IV Conclusion
 
Chapter 15 Is There a Logic to American Policy?
Free Riding and Health Care

 
The Obstacles to Taking Domestic Action to Stop Global Climate Change

 
The Logic of a Government Shutdown

 
The Prisoner’s Dilemma of Entitlement Reform

 
The Success and Failure of Collective Action: A Tale of Two Tax Reforms

 
Conclusion

 
Key Terms

 
Suggested Readings

 
Review Questions

 
Notes

 
 
Reference Material
 
Glossary
 
Notes
 
Index
 
About the Authors

Supplements

Instructor Resources
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I have been a fan of The Logic of American Politics for many years. It has managed to nimbly stay on top of the everchanging world of American politics. The textbook seamlessly mixes in fundamental truths of the discipline with contemporary references to recent changes. Lively prose is combined with innovative and cleverly presented data analysis to produce a work that challenges my students but does not go over their heads. It reinforces the connections I try to make between my students' everyday lives and the political world around them. This is simply an outstanding text for those teaching an introductory class in American government.

Marty Cohen
James Madison University

I've been using The Logic of American Politics for more than a decade because it checks all the boxes for a textbook: comprehensive coverage of the major parts of American government; a theme that helps students see connections among various aspects of politics; and timely updates that keep the content fresh. This is the best book on the market.

Danny Hayes
George Washington University

The Logic of American Politics offers a fresh perspective into the American system of government—one rooted in collective action problems in politics and how government institutions solve and create them.

For its theoretically informed approach based primarily on the "new institutionalist" tradition, the authors use highly accessible language throughout the text. They have always updated it with timely discussions to connect concepts and theories to events hot to the touch like government responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Often presented in "Strategy and Choice" and "Politics to Policy" boxes throughout the text, these discussions provide informative and absorbing illustrations for the logic behind political institutions and processes.

I have assigned this text for my "Introduction to American Government" course. It has noticeably challenged—and enabled—my students to analyze the politics in their lives and on the news through a powerful critical lens.

Huchen Liu
University of Nebraska Omaha

The Logic of American Politics offers the best theoretically driven understanding of American politics for undergraduates; I’ve used it for nearly twenty years at a variety of institutions. It goes far beyond simple civics to teach students how to think like a political scientist. It explains historical and contemporary political patterns through concepts like collective action, delegation, and agenda control while remaining accessible for even first-year college students.

Jessica Trounstine
University of California Merced

The Logic of American Politics is a consistently valuable resource for any educator hoping to explain the seemingly illogical elements of American Politics. The format of the textbook spans all major substantive areas of American Politics, including foundational elements, institutions, public opinion, and policy-making, while incorporating current political issues and examples throughout the text. The "Politics to Policy" feature is particularly helpful to understand the political rationale behind significant policies, and tangibly link theory to outcomes.

Shannon McQueen
West Chester University

Any political system can be evaluated in terms of its durability, whether it resolves collective action problems, solves the tragedy of the commons, protects individual freedom and ensures equity. The wonderful thing about The Logic of American Politics is that it helps students both understand this and then evaluate the American political system on these terms. It is a great textbook for those who want to think critically about politics in the United States.

Forrest Maltzman
George Washington University

The Logic of American Politics is a terrifically rich summation of our knowledge in this particular area; more importantly, it is a masterfully articulated blueprint for how to think about politics in general. In my opinion, there is not a more potent exposition of the current theories and empirical evidence in political science. For that reason, I not only assign this book to undergraduate students, but also in many of my PhD courses to give young scholars a foundation for doing original research in the field.

Nate Monroe
University of California Merced
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