American Good Fortune and Misperception about the Outside World
Paul R. Pillar assesses how Americans’ unusually favorable circumstances and experiences shape their perceptions of the rest of the world. He argues that as a result of these experiences, American have difficulty understanding the security and economic challenges facing other nations and overestimate how well those nations can create stable democracies.

The Future of Transboundary Water Conflicts
Miroslav Nincic and MATTHEW WEISS argue that con?ict over access to fresh water could threaten the future of international security. They examine conditions under which such con?ict may arise in the Middle East and South Asia. The authors identify countries most at risk for water-related con?ict and propose policy recommendations to mitigate for these risks.

Presidential Signing Statements and Lawmaking Credit
KEVIN EVANS and BRYAN MARSHALL analyze “signing statements” from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush and find that presidents are more likely to give credit to members of Congress for legislative accomplishments when political conditions make bill passage difficult. They show that presidents strategically share credit with key coalition members, party leaders, co-partisans, and senators in order to support their coalition and party-building needs in Congress.

Why Presidents Sometimes Do Not Use Intelligence Information
Patrick S. Roberts and Robert P. Saldin identify reasons why presidents sometimes do not use intelligence information. They argue that presidents may opt for “opacity” so as not to act on intelligence information that could upset the global strategic balance or their foreign policy interests. They discuss this phenomenon using as a case study the alleged Israeli-South African nuclear test in 1979.

Live Free or Die Hard: U.S.–UK Cybersecurity Policies
KRISTAN STODDART describes the cybersecurity policies of the United States and the United Kingdom. He argues that both countries should address cyberattacks to critical national infrastructure by adopting internationally-oriented policies that include the private sector and civil society.

Conflict and Compromise in American Religious Politics: A Review Essay
DAVID O’CONNELL reviews two new books on religion’s role in American politics, Mark A. Smith’s Secular Faith: How Culture Has Trumped Religion in American Politics and Neil J. Young’s We Gather Together: The Religious Right and the Problem of Interfaith Politics. He argues that these works of scholarship show us how people of different religious and moral beliefs are not as politically divided as one might think.

Meeting China Halfway: How to Defuse the Emerging US–China Rivalry, Lyle J. Goldstein
Reviewed by ANDREW J. NATHAN

Russia and the New World Disorder, Bobo Lo
Reviewed by Mark N. Katz

The Twilight of Social Conservatism: American Culture Wars in the Obama Era, John Dombrink
Reviewed by ANDREW P. HOGUE

The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia, Kurt M. Campbell
Reviewed by Andrew Scobell

Chasing the American Dream: Understanding What Shapes Our Fortunes, Mark Robert Rank, Thomas A. Hirschl and Kirk A. Foster
Reviewed by Jennifer Hochschild

The Devils We Know: Us and Them in America’s Raucous Political Culture, James A. Morone
Reviewed by Jonathan Weiler

In It to Win: Electing Madam President, Lori Cox Han
Reviewed by KELLY DITTMAR

Election 2014: Why the Republicans Swept the Midterms, Ed Kilgore
Reviewed by BRIAN J. BROX

The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure America’s Liberties, Carol Berkin
Reviewed by Jeremy D. Bailey

The Jefferson Rule: How the Founding Fathers Became Infallible and Our Politics Inflexible, David Sehat
Reviewed by Ralph A. Rossum

The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government, Fergus M. Bordewich
Reviewed by David Bateman

Voting Deliberatively: FDR and the 1936 Presidential Campaign, Mary E. Stuckey
Reviewed by ANDREW H. SIDMAN

Nixon’s First Cover-up: The Religious Life of a Quaker President, H. Larry Ingle
Reviewed by CARLOS FIGUEROA

The Economics of Race in the United States, Brendan O’Flaherty
Reviewed by ENOBONG HANNAH BRANCH

Govern Like Us: U.S. Expectations of Poor Countries, M.A. Thomas
Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL

Beyond Civil Rights: The Moynihan Report and Its Legacy, Daniel Geary
Reviewed by ANSLEY L. QUIROS

Disasters and the American State: How Politicians, Bureaucrats, and the Public Prepare for the Unexpected, Patrick S. Roberts
Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER ANSELL

Secrecy in the Sunshine Era: The Promise and Failures of U.S. Open Government Laws, Jason Ross Arnold
Reviewed by HEIDI KITROSSER

Diversity Matters: Judicial Policy Making in the U.S. Courts of Appeals, Susan B. Haire and Laura P. Moyer
Reviewed by KYUNG PARK

The CIA and the Soviet Bloc: Political Warfare, the Origins of the CIA and Countering Communism in Europe, Stephen Long
Reviewed by Michael Warner

International Order in Diversity: War, Trade and Rule in the Indian Ocean, J.C. Sharman and Andrew Phillips
Reviewed by John Owen

The Wrong Hands: Popular Weapons Manuals and Their Historic Challenges to a Democratic Society, Ann Larabee
Reviewed by DARRELL MILLER

Children and Global Conflict, Kim Huynh, Bina D’Costa and Katrina Lee-Koo
Reviewed by JOEL E. OESTREICH

The Grasping Hand: Kelo v. City of New London and the Limits of Eminent Domain, Ilya Somin
Reviewed by JAMES J. KELLY, JR.

Soviet Leaders and Intelligence: Assessing the American Adversary During the Cold War, Raymond Garthoff
Reviewed by Keren Yarhi-Milo

Rightlessness in an Age of Rights: Hannah Arendt and the Contemporary Struggles of Migrants, Ayten Gündoğdu
Reviewed by LAUREN HEIDBRINK

If We Can Win Here: The New Front Lines of the Labor Movement, Fran Quigley
Reviewed by TAYLOR E. DARK I I I

Myths of the Oil Boom: American National Security in a Global Energy Market, Steve A. Yetiv
Reviewed by ROSEMARY A. KELANIC

Islam in Saudi Arabia, David Commins
Reviewed by CAROLYN BARNETT

Voters’ Verdicts: Citizens, Campaigns, and Institutions in State Supreme Court Elections, Chris W. Bonneau and Damon M. Cann
Reviewed by SCOTT A. COMPARATO

Public-Spirited Citizenship: Leadership and Good Government in the United States, Ralph Ketcham
Reviewed by PETER LEVINE

A Class by Herself: Protective Laws for Women Workers, 1890s–1990s, Nancy Woloch
Reviewed by VANESSA MAY