Controversies in American Politics and Society

Introduction: Conflict and Controversy in American Society: David Mckay.

Part I: Institutions and Processes:.

1. Divided Government: Does it Matter?: David McKay.

2. Trust in Government: A Crisis of Democracy?: Andrew Wroe.

3. Voting and Non-Voting: America's Flawed Democracy?: David Houghton.

4. Creating a Level Playing Field: Campaign Finance Reform: David Houghton.

5. Containing Presidential Power: David Houghton.

6. The Supreme Court and the Politics of Judicial Activism: David McKay.

7. Direct Democracy: Power to the People?: Andrew Wroe.

Part II: Policies:.

8. The Right to Bear Arms: Gun Control in America: Andrew Wroe.

9. Immigration: A nation State or a State of Nations?: Andrew Wroe.

10. Affirmative Action: The Continuing American Dilemma: Andrew Wroe.

11. Anxiety Amid Plenty: Health Care Reform: David McKay.

12. Capital Punishment: The Politics of Retribution: David Mckay.

13. Providing for the Old but Not the Poor: Welfare Reform: David McKay.

14. The Right to Life Debate: Abortion in the USA: Andrew Wroe.

15. Manifest Destiny and Realpolitik: Realism versus Idealism in American Foreign Policy: David Houghton.

16. America as a Global Economic Power: Free Trade versus Protectionism.

Further Reading.

Index.