Böcker av Steven E. Schier

Disruption and Its Consequences in US Politics and Government. This book reveals the widespread effects of the Trump administrations efforts to unsettle and reshape American governance. The chapters focus on the major fronts of conflict evident during Trumps presidency in public opinion, party politics, media coverage, Congressional relations, executive branch management, judicial appointments, foreign policy and domestic policy. The guiding focus of the chapters concerns the successes and failures of the administrations transformative aspirations during Trumps years in the White House.

The stunning 2016 election and presidency of Donald Trump was decades in the making. Three trends since the 1960s created the conditions for his triumph. First, a growing popular discontent with government, long evident in public opinion, created a widespread distrust of established leaders and institutions. Second, America underwent the rise of ΓÇ£professional government.ΓÇ¥ Governing professionals are an elite built on merit through occupational accomplishment. They now dominate interest groups, the bureaucracy, courts, presidency, and Congress. Many government professionals perceive little need to mobilize the public in the way parties did in previous eras. This has furthered the sense of disconnect among the public and created a self-reinforcing chain. Third, political parties and governing institutions are now polarized into rival teams of ideological, partisan elites. The intense battles between these divergent teams often result in government gridlock.These conditions produce ripe opportunities for ΓÇ£outsiderΓÇ¥ candidates to mount popular movements against politics as usual. How did Donald Trump leverage his outsider status into a 2016 electoral victory? Four factors propelled him into the White House. First, TrumpΓÇÖs long career as a public celebrity gave him an identity and ΓÇ£brandΓÇ¥ widely known to the public and which generated massive free media coverage as a candidate. Second, Trump and his campaign ably used social media to further amplify his message. Third, decades of polarized political elites, governmental professionalism and mounting popular discontent made an ΓÇ£outsiderΓÇ¥ message attractive to millions of voters in 2016. Fourth, Trump was blessed with a political opponent, Hillary Clinton, who represented the polarized and professional governing class that Trump rightly saw as an inviting target for his outsider message and demeanor.That is how Trump happened.

Donald Trump's stunning and surprising election to the US presidency has convulsed the political, academic, and journalistic worlds. Based on the election campaign, transition and the pivotal start to the new administration, this book will briefly but comprehensively introduce students to all major aspects of the initial Trump presidency.

Presenting current political science insights and data on the impact of ideology on public life, the presidency, Congress, and the courts, Stephen E. Schier and Todd E. Eberly offer an up-to-minute guide to polarization in America and its impact of federal and state governance.

Identifying four essential evaluative criteria for a democracy that genuinely works, this work asks us to examine the degree to which our system promotes political stability, what the problems are with voter turnout and how to improve it, and asks for a meaningful scrutiny of governmental policy.