Scholars working in or sympathetic to American political development (APD) share a commitment to accurately understanding the history of American politics - and thus they question stylized facts about America's political evolution. Like other approaches to American politics, APD prizes analytical rigor, data collection, the development and testing of theory, and the generation of provocative hypotheses. Much APD scholarship indeed overlaps with the American politics subfield and its many well developed literatures on specific institutions or processes (for example Congress, judicial politics, or party competition), specific policy domains (welfare policy, immigration), the foundations of (in)equality in American politics (the distribution of wealth and income, race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexual and gender orientation), public law, and governance and representation. What distinguishes APD is careful, systematic thought about the ways that political processes, civic ideals, the political construction of social divisions, patterns of identity formation, the making and implementation of public policies, contestation over (and via) the Constitution, and other formal and informal institutions and processes evolve over time - and whether (and how) they alter, compromise, or sustain the American liberal democratic regime. APD scholars identify, in short, the histories that constitute American politics. They ask: what familiar or unfamiliar elements of the American past illuminate the present? Are contemporary phenomena that appear new or surprising prefigured in ways that an APD approach can bring to the fore? If a contemporary phenomenon is unprecedented then how might an accurate understanding of the evolution of American politics unlock its significance? Featuring contributions from leading academics in the field, The Oxford Handbook of American Political Development provides an authoritative and accessible analysis of the study of American political development.

Orren and Skowronek survey past and current 'APD' scholarship and outline a course of study for the future.

Race and the Making of American Political Science shows that racial thought was central to the academic study of politics in the United States at its origins, shaping the discipline's core categories and questions in fundamental and lasting ways.

"This ambitious, well-written book will be a useful resource for scholars... an excellent overview... a fine, readable introduction that presents its analysis in a straightforward manner free from ideological baggage." --Congress & The Presidency "A refreshingly unorthodox narrative. Campbell [explains] in plain language how government grew. His stance is neither liberal nor conservative, but simply well-informed and reasonable." --Walter Nugent, University of Notre Dame "The canvas is large, but one comes away from the book with an understanding of what has happened, the factors contributing to these developments, and their consequences. Strongly recommended." --Samuel McSeveney, Vanderbilt University "Ballard Campbell has synthesized an amazing range of material: federal, state and even local studies, from history, political science, economics, and assorted other specialized studies. The product is a strikingly comprehensive and readable history of the rise of government in the USA. Even better, it provides a coherent explanation of why the state grew so large." --Richard Jensen, University of Illinois-Chicago "His overview (chapter 2) should be a compulsory assignment for any seminar on modern political culture... " --The Journal of American History "Campbell's book is a marvelous multidisciplinary synthesis that builds on the findings of historians of national, state, and local government, along with those of economists and political scientists, to provide a coherent account of the rise of modern American governing structures." --Journal of Interdisciplinary History "The book should be useful in the classroom, even for freshmen classes in U.S. history and government." --American Historical Review "Readable, and refreshingly unorthodox, Campbell provides a coherent explanation of how and why government has become so large. His book deserves inclusion in any undergraduate bibliography covering the development of American government." --Political Studies Association This engaging survey of the growth of government in America in the last century focuses on the evolution of public policy and its relationship to the constitutional and political structure of government at the federal, state, and local levels.

Race has been present at every critical moment in American political development, shaping political institutions, political discourse, public policy, and its denizens’ political identities. But because of the nature of race—its evolving and dynamic status as a structure of inequality, a political organizing principle, an ideology, and a system of power—we must study the politics of race historically, institutionally, and discursively. Covering more than three hundred years of American political history from the founding to the contemporary moment, the contributors in this volume make this extended argument. Together, they provide an understanding of American politics that challenges our conventional disciplinary tools of studying politics and our conservative political moment’s dominant narrative of racial progress. This volume, the first to collect essays on the role of race in American political history and development, resituates race in American politics as an issue for sustained and broadened critical attention.

"An introductory American government textbook should do more than simply tell students that politics is relevant today, that it will affect their lives in meaningful ways. Students are best prepared to recognize this basic fact when they understand the bigger picture of how the system works, how it got that way, and what are the possibilities for change. Cal Jillson's American Government: Political Development and Institutional Change shows students how the nation's past is present in all aspects of contemporary politics, using the dynamics of change as a tool to understand how politics works and how institutions, systems, avenues of participation, and policies have evolved over time to produce today's political environment in the United States. Going one step further, Jillson identifies the critical question of how American democracy might evolve further, focusing in every chapter on reform and change into the future"--

An essential guide to U.S. politics, from the founding to today With 150 accessible articles written by more than 130 leading experts, this essential reference provides authoritative introductions to some of the most important and talked-about topics in American history and politics, from the founding to today. Abridged from the acclaimed Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History, this is the only single-volume encyclopedia that provides comprehensive coverage of both the traditional topics of U.S. political history and the broader forces that shape American politics--including economics, religion, social movements, race, class, and gender. Fully indexed and cross-referenced, each entry provides crucial context, expert analysis, informed perspectives, and suggestions for further reading. Contributors include Dean Baker, Lewis Gould, Alex Keyssar, James Kloppenberg, Patricia Nelson Limerick, Lisa McGirr, Jack Rakove, Nick Salvatore, Stephen Skowronek, Jeremi Suri, Julian Zelizer, and many more. Entries cover: Key political periods, from the founding to today Political institutions, major parties, and founding documents The broader forces that shape U.S. politics, from economics, religion, and social movements to race, class, and gender Ideas, philosophies, and movements The political history and influence of geographic regions

Latin American Political Culture: Public Opinion and Democracy presents a genuinely pan-Latin American examination of the region’s contemporary political culture. This is the only book to extensively investigate the attitudes and behaviors of Latin Americans based on the Latin American Public Opinion Project’s (LAPOP) AmericasBarometer surveys. The findings reveal a complex Latin America with distinct political culture. Authors John Booth and Patricia Bayer Richard join rigorous analysis with clear graphic presentation and extensive examples, and readers learn about public opinion research, engage with further questions for analysis, and have access to data, an expansive bibliography, and links to appendices.

Features of this Innovative Text The 8th edition of this well-respected text features the 2014 midterm Congressional elections, the latest on Obama’s presidency, important Supreme Court decisions, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and other timely updates. An increased attention to media in politics runs through the book. Key learning objectives at the beginning of every chapter focus students on central points to watch for. "The Constitution Today" chapter opening vignettes illustrate the importance of conflicting views on constitutional principles. Key terms defined in the margins on the page where they appear help students study important concepts. Colorful figures, photos, and tables help students visualize important information. "Let’s Compare" boxes analyze how functions of government and political participation work in other countries—now framed by new critical thinking questions. Reformatted "Pro & Con" boxes bring to life a central debate in each chapter and highlight competing perspectives. End-of-chapter summaries, suggested readings, and web resources help students master the material and guide them to further critical investigation of important concepts and topics. "Struggling towards Democracy" discussion questions now do more to provoke critical thinking through examining the "then and now" of democracy in America.

Latin American Politics, Second Edition is a thematic introduction to the political systems of all 20 Latin American countries. The approach is self-consciously comparative and encourages students to develop stronger comparative analysis skills through such topics as history, violence, democracy, and political economy. Fully updated and revised, this second edition also includes a new chapter on parties, elections, and movements. Each chapter is now framed by a prologue and an epilogue to engage students and provide more country-specific content.