Great Debates in American Political Science: An Overview of How Seminal Political Science Research Informs Critical Debates in American Politics (V

This book describes six major debates in American politics. Within each of these debates I describe the major schools of thought and the seminal works in the field. This book will be useful for students and others who are trying to master and understand the scope of research occurring in American politics. I hope it will be a particularly useful tool for those preparing for graduate level comprehensive exams in American politics. There is a heavy emphasis in these essays on the books and research articles that are the basis for the major schools of thought in political science. I refer to these works as seminal because they serve as the launching points for many other scholars and fields of study. These older works of political science created the schools of thought and framed the debate that scholars have been working within since. These essays are not meant to be comprehensive descriptions of the literature but rather a brief overview of the most important ideas and works in the field. The six debates covered in this book include the following. Chapter 1 ? The Power Debate This chapter discusses different arguments about the nature of power. Who holds power? How do you define and measure power? The major schools of thought covered include elitism pluralism neo-elitism class analysis and postmodern. Chapter 2 ? Relationship between the Electoral and the Governing Coalition This chapter discusses the proposition that there is a disjunction between the electoral and governing coalition. Does how we select our president and legislators make governing difficult? This essay uses the literature on presidential and congressional recruitment and elections constituency representation and coalition formation to examine this debate. Chapter 3 ? Impact of Parties on the Operations of Congress This chapter discusses what impact parties have on the operations of Congress. It considers different arguments about what this impact is and why it might be desirable to either strengthen or weaken their influence. Chapter 4 ? Causes of Low Voter Turnout Rates in the U.S. The United States has one of the lowest turnout rates of any democratic nation. This chapter evaluates different arguments about why turnout rates are so low in the United States and what can be done about it. Chapter 5 - Effect of Political Awareness on Attitudes Politically aware citizens vote and act differently than those with less information. This chapter explains the role of political awareness in the formation of attitudes. It examines different arguments about how politically sophisticated people are different from those who are not sophisticated. Chapter 6 ? The Role of Self-Interest in the Formation of Political Attitudes This chapter examines different arguments about what is the role of self-interest in the formation political attitudes. Does self-interest serve as the basis for public opinion? About the Author Laurence O?Rourke is a public policy consultant at ICF. He obtained his Ph.D. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland. As a public policy consultant he engages in multidisciplinary research on transportation energy and environmental policy issues. He writes about a range of issues associated with public policy and governance.

Series: Volume 1 (Book 1)

Paperback: 88 pages

Publisher: Independently published (June 7 2018)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1981034374

ISBN-13: 978-1981034376

Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.2 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces