Arkansas politics and government : do the people rule? / Diane D. Blair.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Blair, Diane D., 1938-

Series:

State politics and government series

State politics and government series.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Arkansas--Politics and government.

Arkansas.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xxvi, 362 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, [1988]

Summary:

In this full-scale study of Arkansas politics and government, Diane D. Blair spots many encouraging trends: an upsurge in voter registration and participation, the growth of partisan competition, the increasing influence of women and blacks in state and local government, and the state's provision of more, and more varied, public services.

It was not always so. Blair asserts that, in spite of the state's proud motto of Regnat Populus (The People Rule), an unresponsive and sometimes self-serving elite ruled over an apathetic and often oppressed populace for most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She explains the causes and consequences of changes in Arkansas and asks whether they are profound and permanent ones or merely transitory changes in symbol and style. In this forward-looking handbook for general readers and scholars alike, Blair considers the distinctive features of Arkansas politics and the organization and functioning of the state's government.

Contents:

1 The Past in the Present 3

2 Some Socioeconomic, Cultural, and Political Explanations 20

3 Traditional Politics and Its Transformation 38

4 Contemporary Political Patterns 61

5 Voters and Political Parties 88

6 The Influence of Interest Groups 105

7 The Constitution: Provisions and Politics 120

8 The Power and Politics of the Executive Branch 136

9 The Power and Politics of the Legislative Branch 160

10 The Power and Politics of the Judicial Branch 185

11 Arkansas in the Federal System: Cooperation and Conflict 206

12 Politics at the Grassroots: How Democratic? 222

13 The Politics of State Services 241

14 Continuity and Change in Arkansas Politics 264.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

0803211880

0803260733

OCLC:

187409552