Deadlock and Disillusionment: American Politics since 1968 (The American History Series) - Softcover

Deadlock and Disillusionment: American Politics Since 1968 is an insightful consideration of the events people, and policy debates that have shaped and continue to influence, even control, the current political era. * Rejects conventional wisdom that the dominant force shaping recent American politics in the last half century has been the rise of the Right * Considers the achievements and frustrations of each administration, from Nixon to Obama, in its assessment of contemporary U.S. politics * Features authorship by an expert scholar in the field who takes a thematic rather than a partisan approach to recent American politics * Offers a concise, comprehensive, and thoroughly up-to-date synthesis of the literature in the field and concludes with a comprehensive bibliographical essay, an aid to student research

Polarization, divisiveness, and dysfunction are defining features of early 21st-century American politics--with no apparent end in sight. How did we get here? Deadlock and Disillusionment: American Politics Since 1968 explores the politics and policy debates, from the Nixon administration to the waning days of the Obama presidency, that have shaped the present-day political landscape. Rejecting the conventional wisdom that the recent political era has been characterized by the rise and primacy of the political right, in this latest volume in the distinguished American History Series, Gary Reichard shows how recent decades have been characterized by a hardening deadlock between the parties and increasing disillusionment in the electorate. Initial chapters take us from Nixon's cynical "Southern strategy" and the emergent Republican majority, to the Watergate scandal and its aftermath, up through the abandonment of idealism in the late 1970s. Themes explored in the decade of the '80s include the rise of the right-wing politics, culture wars, and Reaganomics--followed by a look at the very real costs of "trickle down" economics. Reichard then traces the deepening divide of the final decade of the twentieth century by exploring such issues as the illusion of a liberal revival, the quest for a post-Cold War foreign policy, and the crises of the Clinton presidency. Coverage of the polarizing politics of the early years of the new millennium includes the divisive resolution of Bush vs. Gore and partisan battles over the war on terrorism. The concluding chapter explores partisanship since 2008 by looking at the politics of hope, government by dysfunction, and the trench warfare that is contemporary politics. Timely and thought-provoking, Deadlock and Disillusionment offers illuminating insights into the roots and evolution of the near permanent state of gridlock that has come to define America's contemporary political era.