Parties and policies : how the American government works / David R. Mayhew.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mayhew, David R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political planning--United States.

Political planning.

Political parties--United States.

Political parties.

Policy sciences.

United States--Politics and government.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (408 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Parties & policies

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this wide-ranging new volume, one of our most important and perceptive scholars of the workings of the American government investigates political parties, politicians, elections, and policymaking to discover why public policy emerges in the shape that it does. David R. Mayhew looks at two centuries of policy making-from the Civil War and Reconstruction era through the Progressive era, the New Deal, the Great Society, the Reagan years, and the aspirations of the Clinton and Bush administrations-and offers his original insights on the ever-evolving American policy experience. These fourteen essays were written over the past three decades and collectively showcase Mayhew's skepticism of the usefulness of political parties as an analytic window into American politics. These writings, which include a new introductory essay, probe beneath the parties to the essentials of the U.S. constitutional system and the impulses and idiosyncrasies of history.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

The Electoral Incentive

Congressional Elections: The Case of the Vanishing Marginals

Why Did V. O. Key Draw Back from His ''Have-Nots'' Claim?

Divided Party Control: Does It Make a Difference?

Clinton, the 103d Congress, and Unified Party Control: What Are the Lessons?

U.S. Policy Waves in Comparative Context

Presidential Elections and Policy Change: How Much of a Connection Is There?

Innovative Midterm Elections

Electoral Realignments

Actions in the Public Sphere

Supermajority Rule in the U.S. Senate

Wars and American Politics

Events as Causes: The Case of American Politics

Incumbency Advantage in U.S. Presidential Elections: The Historical Record

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9786612353208

9786612089619

9780300151763

0300151764

9781282353206

1282353209

9781282089617

1282089617

OCLC:

391244499