American Government and Politics: A Concise Introduction is completely new introductory textbook designed and written for all students of politics coming to the subject for the first time. American Government and Politics provides a lively and accessible introduction and guide to all the main features and characteristics of one of the most distinctive and complex political systems in the world. From the impeacement of Bill Clinton, to the controversy surrounding the 2000 presidential election, and the Bush administration's responses to September 11, students will gain a balanced and critical understanding of all the key issues and debates in contemporary American government and politics today. Underlying themes include; the nature of American values and identity; the influence of the constitution on political development; the ways in which key governing institutions function to produce domestic and foreign policy.
Robert S. Singh has been a member of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck since April 1999. He was educated at Christ Church and Nuffield College, both University of Oxford, from where he graduated with a first class BA Honours degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (1989) and a DPhil in Politics (1994). He also spent a year as a visiting graduate exchange student at Yale University in 1990-91. Before coming to Birkbeck, he held fixed term College Lectureships at Oriel, University, Christ Church and Queen's Colleges, Oxford (1991-94) and permanent Lectureships in Politics at Trinity College, Dublin (1994-96) and the University of Edinburgh (1996-99). His main interest is the politics of United States foreign policy but he has also written extensively on domestic US politics.
Americanism The US Constitution Political Parties and the Party System Elections and Voting Behaviour Presidential Selection The Presidency Congress The Supreme Court Interest Groups The Federal Bureaucracy Domestic Policy Foreign Policy Conclusion
`Full of topical information and written with sparkling clarity, this book is a short-cut to excellence for the discriminating student' - Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, Professor of American History, University of Edinburgh `In American Government and Politics Robert Singh provides an excellent introduction to the subject. His approach is wide ranging, his examples well selected and his style is accessible. It will make an ideal book for introductory and more advanced university courses on US government. I strongly recommend the book to teachers and students' - Desmond King, Mellon Professor of American Government, University of Oxford
