Spotlight on US Politics . . .

What role do the media play in influencing political life and shaping public opinion and behavior? Do they support—or undermine—our democratic beliefs and institutions? Claims about the media’s powerful influence are frequently made, but where is the evidence? Kenneth Newton scrutinizes these complex questions. Recognizing that differing forms of political communication have    More >

From developing effective messages to working with the news media, from writing speeches to tweeting, from crisis communication to the ethics of political communication, and everything in between, Political Communication in Action takes the reader step-by-step through the process. This approachable new text: • Covers both theory and real-world practice • Uses examples and case    More >

The third edition of Contemporary Regulatory Policy brings this classic text completely up to date—reflecting more than a decade of policy changes and including an entirely new chapter on food safety regulation. Beyond their focus on seven key policy arenas, the authors confront the broad problems of partisan polarization and congressional gridlock. They also consider the significance of    More >

Initiated in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, have the reforms of the US intelligence enterprise served their purpose? What have been the results of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and a reorganized FBI? Have they helped to reduce blind spots and redundancies in resources and responsibilities ... and to    More >

While existing scholarship addresses the influence of religious affiliation on political attitudes and behaviors in the United States, a number of puzzling questions remain unanswered. In response, Matthew Miles demonstrates that a more complete conceptualization of religion as a social identity can help to explain many of those puzzles. As he explores the impact, both positive and negative, of    More >

Homelessness once was considered an aberration. Today it is a normalized feature of US society.  It is also, argue Elizabeth Beck and Pamela Twiss, an industry: the embrace of neoliberal policies and piecemeal efforts to address the problem have ensured a steady production of homeless people, as well as a plethora of disjointed social services that often pathologize individuals instead of    More >