The Logic of American Politics

The American people—and their government—are deeply at odds over how best to overcome the obstacles currently facing the country. After observing the strains of intense partisanship and divided government, your students are probably asking what logic, if any, can be found in politics. The new fifth edition of Logic reaffirms this best-seller’s place as the most accessible “smart” book on the market. Weaving together historical context, current politics, and analytic concepts, Logic builds students’ understanding of political institutions and practices as imperfect solutions to collective action problems.

Consistently praised for its engaging narrative, Logic hooks students with great storytelling while arming them with a “toolkit” of institutional design concepts—command, veto, agenda control, voting rules, delegation.

Walking students through examples of how each concept works, the authors also highlight passages that apply collective action themes so students cannot miss key points.

Up-to-date in its coverage of such hot-button issues as health care and financial reform, the midterm elections, and racial profiling and immigration, this fifth edition also pays special attention to political polarization. Throughout the book, the authors consistently return to the country’s divide—among constituents and in government—as they guide students through the fundamentals of American politics.

More than 100 tables, figures, and maps offer visual context to an array of political data and analysis, while over 230 carefully chosen photographs enhance the book’s examples and insights. Bolded key terms, a glossary, annotated reading lists, review questions, and a companion website help students read, think, and study.

Samuel Kernell is distinguished emeritus professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, where he has taught since 1977. Kernell’s research interests focus on the presidency, political communication, and American political history. His books include Veto Rhetoric: A Leadership Strategy for Divided Government; Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership, 4th edition; Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections, 2nd edition (with Gary C. Jacobson); and Party Ballots, Reform, and the Transformation of America’s Electoral System (with Erik J. Engstrom). He has also edited Parallel Politics: Economic Policymaking in Japan and the United States; The Politics of Divided Government (with Gary W. Cox); and James Madison: The Theory and Practice of Republican Government. He is presently writing an intellectual biography of James H. Rowe.

Gary C. Jacobson is distinguished emeritus professor of political science at the University of California, San Diego, where he taught from 1979 to 2016. He previously taught at Trinity College; the University of California, Riverside; Yale University; and Stanford University. Jacobson specializes in the study of U.S. elections, parties, interest groups, public opinion, and Congress. He is the author of Money in Congressional Elections; The Politics of Congressional Elections, 10th edition; The Electoral Origins of Divided Government; A Divider, Not a Uniter: George W. Bush and the American People, 2nd edition; and Presidents and Parties in the Public Mind; he is the coauthor of Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections, 2nd edition. Jacobson is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Thad Kousser is professor of political science and co-director of the Yankelovich Center at the University of California, San Diego. He has served as a legislative aide in the California, New Mexico, and U.S. Senates. He is the author of Term Limits and the Dismantling of State Legislative Professionalism, coauthor of The Power of American Governors and The Logic of American Politics, and coeditor of The New Political Geography of California and recent editions of Politics in the American States. Kousser has been awarded the UCSD Academic Senate’s Distinguished Teaching Award, has served as coeditor of the journals State Politics and Policy Quarterly and Legislative Studies Quarterly.