アメリカの行政機関と外郭団体の相互作用、ならびに政治プロセスに注目してアメリカ政治を見渡します。政治的代議制度の欠落や、拡大する所得格差などの現実にも率直な目を向けながら、その政治のしくみやアメリカ民主主義の長所といった要点を押さえた一冊です。
This book introduces the vital elements of American politics, emphasizing how these elements have evolved into the form they take today. By using a historical-institutional approach to the various parts of American politics, Valelly communicates that the American political system is, and always has been, a work in progress—one unfolding within, and also constantly updating, an eighteenth-century constitutional framework. Valelly begins by asking what Americans want from their politics and answers with a four-part analysis: (1) the politics of "peace and prosperity," (2) the sometimes illiberal politics of conformity and Americanization, (3) the politics of large-scale problem-solving (e.g., the abolition of slavery) and "perfection of the Union," and (4) the deep public desire for constitutional continuity. The last item provides the organizational framework/theme for the rest of the book. Additional chapters treat parties and polarization (stressing that contemporary polarization reinforces constitutional persistence because it provides for a mix of policy immobility and power-sharing between parties that bitterly disagree); a survey of the basic institutions: the Presidency, Congress, the judicial branch, the unelected bureaucracy of the independent agencies, and state and local governments. A third group of chapters deals with political communication, public opinion, voting and the boundaries of the electorate, and the politics of government steering of the economy. Finally, Valelly considers the puzzle of the persistence for more than two centuries of the basic constitutional forms established in 1787. The author employs a mix of quantitative data and historical examples to illustrate the main themes.
Reading Guide
List of illustrations
Preface
Chapter 1: Elements of American democracy
Chapter 2: The presidency
Chapter 3: Congress and its bicameralism
Chapter 4: The legislative-executive process
Chapter 5: The Supreme Court
Chapter 6: Bureaucracy
Chapter 7: Public opinion
Chapter 8: Political parties and democratic choices
Chapter 9: The partisan revival
Chapter 10: Political economy
References
Further reading
Index
"well-written and of use to a lay audience interested in a few basic facts about the history of American government with a brief discussion of contemporary government" -- Political Studies Review
ISBN : 9780195373851
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