The Influence of Magna Carta in Limiting Executive Power in the War on Terror
Eric T. Kasper examines the use of Magna Carta by U.S. federal courts in enemy combatant cases. He traces the history of due process, jury trial, and habeas corpus rights within Magna Carta as well as subsequent legal documents and rulings in England and America. He concludes that Magna Carta is properly used by the federal courts as persuasive authority to limit executive power in the war on terror.

Democratic Divisions in the 1960s and the Road to Welfare Reform
Eva Bertram analyzes the effects of welfare reform initiatives undertaken by the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. She argues that liberalizing reforms of the 1960s created opportunities for conservative Democratic lawmakers to seize the policy agenda, laying the groundwork for a turn toward workfare that would culminate in the 1990s.

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.

Peace Before Freedom: Diplomacy and Repression in Sadat's Egypt
JASON BROWNLEE assesses the foundations of the contemporary U.S.– Egyptian alliance, which was consolidated in 1979 by the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty. He concludes that the bold diplomacy of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was matched by fierce repression at home. Moreover, Egypt's foreign interlocutors presupposed that authoritarianism inside Egypt would help guarantee the country's new foreign policy alignment.

The Politics of Diplomatic Service Reform in Post-Soviet Russia
Yelena Biberman discusses the causes and implications of the diplomatic drain since the early 1990s–inside the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Drawing on an original survey of students at academic programs in elite Russian universities designed to train diplomats, she challenges the idea that inadequate material benefits limit interest in Russian diplomatic careers. Instead, she demonstrates that concerns over the relative power and prestige of the diplomatic corps guide prospective diplomats in their career choices.

How Wars End: Why We Always Fight the Last Battle, Gideon Rose
Reviewed by Robert S. Litwak

Witness to Transformation: Refugee Insights into North Korea, Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland
Reviewed by Celeste Arrington

Why Parties? A Second Look, John H. Aldrich
Reviewed by Jeffrey M. Stonecash

Paying Attention to Foreign Affairs: How Public Opinion Affects Presidential Decision Making, Thomas Knecht
Reviewed by Robert Y. Shapiro

Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America's Public Schools, Terry M. Moe
Reviewed by Kenneth K. Wong

Power in Uncertain Times: Strategy in the Fog of Peace, Emily Goldman
Reviewed by Paul R. Pillar

Rethinking Japanese Public Opinion and Security: From Pacifism to Realism?, Paul Midford
Reviewed by Seo-Hyun Park

A Presidency Upstaged: The Public Leadership of George H.W. Bush, Lori Cox Han
Reviewed by Robert F. Durant

China, the United States, and Global Order, Rosemary Foot and Andrew Walter
Reviewed by Allen Carlson

Governing for the Long Term: Democracy and the Politics of Investment, Alan M. Jacobs
Reviewed by Mark K. Cassell

Legality, Scott J. Shapiro
Reviewed by Judith Baer

Why Iowa? How the Caucuses and Sequential Elections Improve the Presidential Nominating Process, David P. Redlawsk, Caroline J. Tolbert and Todd Donovan
Reviewed by Christopher C. Hull

Reading Obama: Dreams, Hope, and the American Political Tradition, James T. Kloppenberg
Reviewed by Elvin T. Lim

A Behavioral Theory of Elections, Jonathan Bendor, Daniel Diermeier, David A. Siegel and Michael M. Ting
Reviewed by Edward M. Burmila

Abortion Politics in Congress: Strategic Incrementalism and Policy Change, Thad E. Hall and Scott H. Ainsworth
Reviewed by George Connor

Habeas Corpus in America: The Politics of Individual Rights, Justin J. Wert
Reviewed by Casey B.K. Dominguez

Out and Running: Gay and Lesbian Candidates, Elections, and Policy Representation, Donald P. Haider-Markel
Reviewed by Cynthia Burack

Neoconservatives in U.S. Foreign Policy under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush: Voices behind the Throne, Jesus Velasco
Reviewed by Brian C. Rathbun

The Myth of American Religious Freedom, David Sehat
Reviewed by Anne-Marie Szymanski

Behind the Backlash: Muslim Americans After 9/11, Lori Peek
Reviewed by Elizabeth Suhay

Policy Diffusion Dynamics in America, Graeme Boushey
Reviewed by Frederick J. Boehmke

The Trouble with the Congo: Local Violence and the Failure of International Peacebuilding, Severine Autesserre
Reviewed by A. Carl LeVan

The Diffusion of Military Power: Causes and Consequences for International Politics, Michael C. Horowitz
Reviewed by J. Garry Clifford

Competative Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War, Steven Levitsky and Lucian A. Way
Reviewed by Ana Maria Bejarano

Latino Representation in State Houses and Congress, Jason P. Casellas
Reviewed by Jaime Dominguez

Constructing Grievances: Ethnic Nationalism in Russia's Republics, Elise Giuliano
Reviewed by Gerald Easter

Direct Democracy Worldwide, David Altman
Reviewed by Michael E. Morrell

The Return: Russia's Journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev, Daniel Treisman
Reviewed by Zoltan Barany

The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa, Deborah Brautigam
Reviewed by Jonathan Munemo

The Evolution of Modern States: Sweden, Japan, and the United States, Sven Steinmo
Reviewed by William R. Thompson