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Politics in the American States
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Politics in the American States
A Comparative Analysis

Twelfth Edition
Edited by:
Other Titles in:
State & Local Politics
November 2024 | 640 pages | CQ Press
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Politics in the American States, Twelfth Edition, brings together the high-caliber research expected from this trusted text, with comprehensive and comparative analysis of the fifty states. Fully updated for all major developments in the study of state-level politics, the editors and chapter contributors keep pace with the transformation of American states and their study.
Jamila Michener
Ch. 1 Racial, Economic, and Gender Inequity in the States
Racial, Economic, and Gender Demographics in the United States

 
What is Equity?

 
States as Structural Contexts

 
Racial, Gender, and Economic Inequity in State Politics

 
Conclusion

 
Scott J. LaCombe
Ch. 2 Policy Diffusion and Innovation
Introduction

 
States as Policy Innovators

 
Why Do States Innovate?

 
Factors That Lead to Diffusion

 
Tensions

 
Conclusion

 
Joseph Coll, Michael Ritter, Caroline Tolbert
Ch. 3 Parties and Elections in the American States
Overview of Parties, Campaigns, and Elections in the American States

 
Election Administration in the American States

 
Election Access in the American States

 
Conclusion

 
Anthony J. Nownes, Adam J. Newmark
Ch. 4 Interest Groups in the States
What Is an Interest Group?

 
Variations in State Interest Group Numbers

 
Lobbying and Lobbyists in the States

 
Groups, Elections, and the Role of Money

 
Developments in State Interest Group Politics

 
Concerns and Problems: The Regulation of Interest Groups in the States

 
Interest Group Power in the States

 
Conclusion

 
Justin H. Phillips
Ch. 5 Public Opinion, Representation, and America’s Culture Wars
Measuring Public Opinion

 
Public Opinion and Morality Policy

 
Conclusion

 
Shaun Bowler, Todd Donovan
Ch. 6. Direct Democracy
Origins of Direct Democracy in the United States

 
Mechanisms of Direct Democracy

 
Initiatives and Agenda Setting

 
Initiative Campaigns and Elections

 
Effects of Initiatives on Citizens and State Politics

 
The Legislature and Courts: Implementation, Amenability, and Legal Challenges

 
Conclusion

 
Nancy Martorano Miller, Keith E. Hamm
Ch. 7 Legislative Politics in the States
Why You Should Care About State Legislatures

 
Who Serves in State Legislatures and How Do They Get There?

 
How Legislatures Do Their Work

 
Conclusion

 
Margaret Ferguson, Thad Kousser
Ch. 8 Governors and the Executive Branch
Becoming Governor

 
The Powers of Governors: A Comparison

 
Being Governor

 
Leaving the Governorship

 
Conclusion

 
Brent D. Boyea
Ch. 9 Politics and the Judicial Process
The Organization of State Courts

 
Electoral Connection and History

 
Diversity and Selection

 
The Work of State Courts

 
Decision-Making in State Courts

 
Conclusion

 
Brandon R. Davis
Ch. 10 Criminal Justice in State and Nation
Part I: The Carceral State and Mass Incarceration

 
Part II: A Public Policy History of the Carceral State

 
Part III: Carceral Contact in State and Nation

 
Conclusion

 
William W. Franko, Christopher Witko
Ch. 11 Fiscal Policies: Taxes and Spending in the States
Introduction

 
State Budgets and the Budget Process

 
Major Sources of Revenue for the States

 
Major State Expenditures

 
What Determines the Size of Government in the United States?

 
The Incidence of State Fiscal Policy and the U.S. Inequality Crisis

 
Conclusion

 
Colleen M. Grogan, Michael K. Gusmano, Richard C. Fording
Ch. 12 State Health and Welfare Programs
Background

 
The Divergent Paths of Medicaid and TANF

 
Why State Variation and Divergent Paths?

 
The Role of Race and Gender

 
Policy Mechanisms

 
Current Controversies and Future Hopes

 
Waivers as a Policy Tool

 
The ACA's 1332 Waivers

 
Delivery Model Reforms

 
Conclusion

 
A. Lee Hannah, Michael B. Berkman, Eric Plutzer
Ch. 13 The Politics of Education
Policy and the Politics of Education

 
Democracy in America: Who Should Decide?

 
Authority and Governance at the State Level

 
The Authority Delegated to Local School Boards

 
Money: Adequacy, Equity, and the Politics of Funding

 
What Should Students Learn?

 
Conclusion

 
Karen Mossberger, Clement Mensah Damoah
Ch. 14 Broadband Policy: Geographic Inequality and the Role of the States
Broadband and Inequality

 
Multiple Dimensions of Inequality in Broadband Use

 
Digital Human Capital in Communities

 
Digital Inequality and Place

 
States as Decision-Makers and Coordinators

 
State Role in Broadband Policy

 
Need for State Collaboration With Local and Tribal Governments

 
Conclusion

 
David M. Konisky, Neal D. Woods
Ch. 15 Environmental Policy
State Environmental Conditions

 
Federalism and the States’ Role in Environmental Policy

 
State Environmental Policy Innovation and Variation

 
Conclusion

 
Prentiss A. Dantzler, Zachary D. Wood
Ch. 16 Housing Policy
Introduction

 
Private Property, Homeownership, and the Devolution of State Power

 
State Intervention Within Hardest Hit Housing Markets

 
Creating Separate and Unequal Communities

 
Who Deserves Affordable Housing?

 
Homelessness and Growing Forms of Housing Instability

 
Conclusion

 
Candis Watts Smith
Ch. 17 Race and Politics in the American States
Race and Politics in the American States

 
What Kind of Problem Is Race?

 
A Patchwork of Racial Inequality

 
The Hidden Hand of Racial (In)Equality

 
Racial (In)Equality From the Bottom, Up

 
Conclusion

 
Elizabeth Rigby
Ch. 18 Economic and Political Inequality
State-Level Research on Politics of Inequality

 
Measuring State-Level Economic Inequality

 
The Politics of State-Level Economic Inequality

 
How Does Inequality Shape Mass Political Participation?

 
Conclusion

 

Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis provides a great overview of comparative state politics. Covering so much material while maintaining a high level of quality is difficult, but the editors and authors accomplish it masterfully.

Jaclyn J. Kettler
Boise State University

Politics in the American States does a great job of mixing classic and contemporary scholarship: combining the best of the older approaches established literature with the most up-to-date information and ideas.

Coyle Neal
Southwest Baptist University

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