Volume 130 - Number 2 - Summer 2015

Vested Interests and Political Institutions
TERRY M. MOE maintains that vested interests need to be brought to the center of the theory of political institutions. He sets out some basic theoretical building blocks that bear on their behavior, power, and institutional consequences. He then applies these general arguments to the case of American education reform.

Volume 129 - Number 2 - Summer 2014

The Role of Political Science in China: Intellectuals and Authoritarian Resilience
STEPHEN NOAKES discusses the relationship between political scientists and the state in China. He argues that political scientists do more to strengthen the rule of the Chinese Communist Party than they do to undermine it, and are therefore complicit in preserving the authoritarian status quo.

Volume 128 - Number 2 - Summer 2013

What Scarlett O’Hara Thinks: Political Attitudes of Southern Women
HEATHER ONDERCIN uses the framework of intersectionality to understand how gender, race, and region uniquely shape the attitudes of Southern white women. She finds that Southern white women hold distinctly different attitudes across a range of policy areas than do Southern men and non-Southerners. 

Volume 128 - Number 1 - Spring 2013

The Bankruptcy of Liberalism and Conservatism
Amitai Etzioni examines the frequently employed distinction between the public and the private realms. He concludes that this dichotomy as well as the one between liberalism and conservatism is becoming obsolete because both realms are increasingly intertwined and tend to move in tandem. Such observations urge reexaminations of several key assumptions of public philosophy. 

Volume 127 - Number 4 - Winter 2012-2013

The Paradox of Islam’s Future
RAYMOND W. BAKER argues that although violent extremism flows from radical Islamic movements, the Islamic mainstream has effectively adapted to the globalized world and will shape the future of Islam in ways open to principled accommodation with the West. He claims that mainstream assertiveness, unencumbered by Western interference, provides the most effective way to counter destructive radicalism. 

Volume 127 - Number 3 - Fall 2012

From Litigation to Legislation in Tobacco Politics: The Surrender of Philip Morris
Martha Derthick asks why it was possible for Congress to enact regu­lation of tobacco manufacture in 2009 after many years of indulging the industry. She finds the explanation in the rise of opposition to the industry in the Democratic Party and the embrace of regulation by Philip Morris, the major manufacturer, which was seeking safety and stability after repeated assaults from an array of public and private actors in legislatures, courts, and the media. 

Volume 127 - Number 2 - Summer 2012

Skeletons in White House Closets: A Discussion of Modern Presidential Scandals
SCOTT BASINGER and Brandon Rottinghaus list and classify presidential scandals occurring since 1972. They examine the different types of scandals and analyze news coverage of these scandals and their durations. They conclude that a small, unrepresentative set of scandals accounts for most news coverage, generating the misperception of scandals as drawn-out affairs involving large numbers of officials.

Volume 126 - Number 4 - Winter 2011-12

America's Grace: How a Tolerant Nation Bridges Its Religious Divides
David E. Campbell and Robert D. Putnam ask how America can simultaneously be religiously devout, religiously diverse, and religiously tolerant. They argue that America's relative religious harmony lies in the frequency of “religious bridging.” Almost all Americans have a friend or close family member of another religion, and these personal relationships keep America's religious melting pot from boiling over.

Volume 126 - Number 2 - Summer 2011

The Challenges of Decreasing Oil Consumption
STEVE A. YETIV AND ERIC S. FOWLER quantify the benefits for the United States of achieving hybrid-like efficiency in its vehicle fleet. They show not only how important such a move can be, but also that if Chinese consumers continue to buy inefficient vehicles at a fast pace, they will sap America's efficiency gains rather quickly. They argue that oil dependence is not only an American, but also a global problem that cannot be addressed seriously without multilateral cooperation.

Volume 125 - Number 3 - Fall 2010

Beyond Gridlock: Green Drift in American Environmental Policymaking
Christopher McGrory Klyza and David Sousa argue that environmental policy in the United States has moved in the direction favored by environmentalists over the last two decades, despite efforts by many conservatives to roll back these policies. This green drift is based on the combination of major environmental laws and institutional structures created in the 1960s and 1970s and frozen in place by the legislative gridlock of the last two decades.