American Government

In the Eleventh Edition, Ansolabehere deeply revised the public opinion and media chapters. In this Twelfth Edition, he brings a contemporary perspective to the parties and interest groups chapters while also extensively updating the chapter on elections, which now includes an analysis of the 2010 midterm elections.

Bold graphics show how data and research yield important insights into politics. This popular feature, which appears in every chapter, has been redesigned for greater visual impact and clearer presentation of the data. Eight new spreads by top researchers—in addition to nine updated spreads—get students thinking analytically about contemporary topics. New PowerPoints break the infographics into segments, optimized for lecture. New infographics include:
• Measuring Ideologyon the Roberts Court, by Kevin Quinn (Berkeley) and Andrew Martin (Washington University)
• Federalism and Health Care Reform, by Jenna Bednar (University of Michigan)
• The Politics of Presidential Appointments, by David Lewis (Vanderbilt University)
• Analyzing the Post-2010 Redistricting, by Steve Ansolabehere

Politics is messy, complex, and contentious. How do we make sense of what seems too large and impossible to explain? Throughout the text, the authors repeatedly draw on five fundamental principles of politics:

• All political behavior has a purpose.
• Institutions structure politics.
• All politics is collective action.
• Political outcomes are the products of individual preferences and institutional procedures.
• History matters.