The New American Politics?

This book describes the nature of change in the American political system, focusing on continuity and change in governing institutions. It explores the Democratic Party moving to diversify symbolically by examining the role of minorities in the 1992 election and the early Clinton years. Was 1992 a realigning election? Did the midterm elections of 1994 realign the realignment? Will 1996 carry the United States forward on yet another changed trajectory? In this volume of original essays, leading political scientists examine key components of the American agenda and assess the current administration's position in light of historical precedents and future trends. Each conclusion is unique, born of a combination of the empirical record and its interpretation, but essays by Bryan Jones and Larry Dodd help to put the wide-ranging views represented here in long-term perspective.