US Politics

Understand why US politics works differently in today’s era of polarization, democratic backsliding, and growing struggles over power, representation, and identity.

Textbook assumptions about how US politics works are being tested by profound political, social and economic shifts. US Politics combines a clear introduction to the central political institutions with an exploration of the forces transforming them, helping students understand not only how US politics is designed to function, but how it operates in practice.

Drawing on the latest political science and featuring current and historical examples throughout, this book examines how developments such as polarization, democratic backsliding, economic inequality, and shifting identities are reshaping elections, parties, media, public policy, and the US’s role in the world.

It examines how institutions built on checks and balances have been challenged by developments such as Congressional gridlock and the decline of local media, making political decision making increasingly fraught. Accessible, balanced and critically engaged, this textbook encourages students to consider multiple perspectives while connecting core political science concepts to contemporary U.S. democracy. It is essential reading for all students of US Politics today.