Do Facts Matter? Information and Misinformation in American Politics
JENNIFER L. HOCHSCHILD and Katherine Levine Einstein explore the impact of citizens’ misinformation on American democratic politics. Examining cases ranging from the invasion of Iraq to refusal to vaccinate children, they find that citizens’ political use of misinformation is harmful and even dangerous. The misinformed are particularly difficult to persuade and a subset of politicians have powerful incentives to keep them that way. Political misinformation, thus, provides a challenge to political and policy choices.

Did Chirac Say ‘Non’? Revisiting UN Diplomacy on Iraq, 2002-03
Stefano Recchia revisits the George W. Bush administration’s attempt in the spring of 2003 to secure UN approval for the Iraq war. Drawing on new evidence from declassified documents and interviews with senior officials, he argues that the administration would have stood a good chance of securing UN approval—notwithstanding French opposition. But the administration had to be willing to postpone the start of military operations by up to six weeks and endorse a set of demanding benchmarks for Iraqi compliance, as proposed by Britain and several nonpermanent members of the Security Council. 

Language Dominance, Bilingualism, and Latino Political Participation in the United States
Rodolfo O. de la Garza and Alan Yang analyze voting and political participation patterns of the Latino electorate in the United States. They find that Latino bilinguals and the Spanish dominant live in environments that provide them access to more and different information than English dominant Latinos. They argue that this results in their having equal or higher rates of participation and voting. 

Power and Risk in Foreign Policy: Understanding China’s Crisis Behavior
Kai He discusses China’s foreign policy and responses to crises under former General Secretary Hu Jintao. He argues that when Chinese leaders perceive that their political survival is threatened they are more likely to exhibit risky behavior in terms of foreign policy. He discusses how these findings could inform our understanding of China’s current and future foreign policy orientation.

Does Strategic Planning Matter? The Outcomes of U.S. National Security Reviews
Jordan Tama examines the outcomes of U.S. strategic reviews in the area of national security. He finds that reviews rarely generate major strategic change without an external shock and direct presidential involvement. But quadrennial reviews by government agencies can still serve as valuable tools for leading and managing complex bureaucracies. 

Presidential Policies on Terrorism: From Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, Donna G. Starr-Deelen
Reviewed by James J. Wirtz

The Next Great War? The Roots of World War I and the Risk of U.S.–China Conflict, Steven E. Miller and Richard N. Rosecrance, eds.
Reviewed by Andrew Scobell

Fighting to the End: The Pakistan Army’s Way of War, C. CHRISTINE FAIR
Reviewed by Feroz Hassan Khan

Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect, Reese Erlich
Reviewed by HICHAM BOU NASSIF

Inequality in America: Race, Poverty, and Fulfilling Democracy’s Promise, Stephen M. Caliendo
Reviewed by Katherine Levine Einstein

The Promise of Party in a Polarized Age, Russell Muirhead
Reviewed by Marija Anna Bekafigo

Cheap and Clean: How Americans Think about Energy in the Age of Global Warming, David M. Konisky and Stephen Ansolabehere
Reviewed by SARAH PRALLE

On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller, Richard Norton Smith
Reviewed by Gerald Benjamin

Legislative Effectiveness in the United States Congress: The Lawmakers, Craig Volden and Alan E. Wiseman
Reviewed by Jordan M. Ragusa

The Impression of Influence: Legislator Communication, Representation, and Democratic Accountability, Justin Grimmer, Sean J. Westwood and Solomon Messing
Reviewed by Scot Schraufnagel

Seeking the Promised Land: Mormons and American Politics, John C. Green, David E. Campbell and J. Quin Monson
Reviewed by Kathleen Flake

Grassroots for Hire: Public Affairs Consultants in American Democracy, Edward T. Walker
Reviewed by Gregory J. Martin

In Food We Trust: The Politics of Purity in American Food Regulation, Courtney I. P. Thomas
Reviewed by A. Bryce Hoflund

Convention Center Follies: Politics, Power, and Public Investment in American Cities, Heywood T. Sanders
Reviewed by Matthew P. Drennan

In Our Hands: The Struggle for U.S. Child Care Policy, Elizabeth Palley and Corey S. Shdaimah
Reviewed by Mary Elizabeth Collins

American Justice 2014: Nine Clashing Visions on the Supreme Court, Garrett Epps
Reviewed by Adam W. Nye

The Lovers’ Quarrel: The Two Foundings and American Political Development, Elvin T. Lim
Reviewed by Robert E. Ross

The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America, Naomi Murakawa
Reviewed by Jeffrey Smith

The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power, Leah Wright Rigueur
Reviewed by Corey D. Fields

Iran-Contra: Reagan’s Scandal and the Unchecked Abuse of Presidential Power, Malcolm Byrne
Reviewed by Seth Cantey

Democracy Declassified: The Secrecy Dilemma in National Security, Michael P. Colaresi
Reviewed by Sebastian Rosato

Lives in the Balance: Asylum Adjudication by the Department of Homeland Security, Philip G. Schrag, Andrew I. Schoenholtz and Jaya Ramji-Nogales
Reviewed by Rachel Gonzalez Settlage

Democracy without Justice in Spain: The Politics of Forgetting, Omar G. Encarnaci
ón
Reviewed by GERARD ALEXANDER

A Darkling Plain: Stories of Conflict and Humanity during War, Kristen Renwick Monroe
Reviewed by Andrew Pilecki

Dictators at War and Peace, Jessica L. P. Weeks
Reviewed by Alexander B. Downes

Divided Sovereignty: International Institutions and the Limits of State Authority, Carmen Pavel
Reviewed by Steven P. Lee

Reconsidering the American Way of War: U.S. Military Practice from the Revolution to Afghanistan, Antulio J. Echevarria II
Reviewed by Ryan Grauer

The Political Psychology of Israeli Prime Ministers: When Hard-Liners Opt for Peace, Yael S. Aronoff
Reviewed by Jeffrey D. Berejikian

The Kurdish Spring: A New Map of the Middle East, David L. Phillips
Reviewed by Michael M. Gunter

The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind: How Self-Interest Shapes Our Opinions and Why We Won’t Admit It, Jason Weeden and Robert Kurzban
Reviewed by Christopher Weber