The Role of Villain: Iran and U.S. Foreign Policy
Paul R. Pillar examines why Iran has become a major focus of attention of U.S. foreign policy and finds that even a nuclear-armed Iran would not pose the major threat that is commonly assumed. The Iran issue simply fills a traditional American psychological and political need to have a foreign adversary. 

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. 

Engaging the Enemy and the Lessons for the Obama Administration
STEVEN E. LOBELL argues that the Obama administration can learn from previous British and American policies of engagement. He looks at four cases that suggest trade concessions and commercial inducements, rather than punishment or firm balancing, may be more appropriate policy to moderate the behavior of states threatening U.S. interests. 

Democratic Inclusion and Religious Nationalists in Israel
NADAV G. SHELEF and ORIE SHELEF discuss the voting behavior of Israeli religious nationalists in the elections of 1999 and 2009. Their analysis suggests that the democratic inclusion of radical movements may not lead to moderation. 

Cabinet Duration in Presidential Democracies
JAE HYEOK SHIN analyzes cabinet duration in ten presidential democracies in Latin America. He finds that cabinet attributes greatly affect cabinet durability and that the performance of the cabinet has larger effects on its stability than do its handling of exogenous crises. 

China’s Regulatory State: A New Strategy for Globalization, Roselyn Hsueh
Reviewed by Andrew Scobell

The Struggle for Civil Society in Central Asia: Crisis and Transformation, Charles Buxton ; Chaos, Violence, Dynasty: Politics and Islam in Central Asia, Eric McGlinchey
Reviewed by ALEX COOLEY

The Middle Class Fights Back: How Progressive Movements Can Restore Democracy in America, Brian D’Agostino
Reviewed by WILBUR C. RICH

No Citizen Left Behind, Meira Levinson
Reviewed by Kenneth K. Wong

Becoming a Candidate: Political Ambition and the Decision to Run for Office, Jennifer L. Lawless
Reviewed by SAMUEL H. FISHER III

Three Worlds of Relief: Race, Immigration, and the American Welfare State from the Progressive Era to the New Deal, Cybelle Fox
Reviewed by Julie Novkov

Transformative Political Leadership: Making a Difference in the Developing World, Robert I. Rotberg
Reviewed by Jerrold M. Post

Warlords: Strong-Arm Brokers in Weak States, Kimberly Marten
Reviewed by Jesse Driscoll

When Victory Is Not an Option: Islamist Movements in Arab Politics, Nathan J. Brown
Reviewed by Ahmet T. Kuru

Rush to Judgment: George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and His Critics, Stephen F. Knott
Reviewed by TERRY H. ANDERSON

The New Geopolitics of Transatlantic Relations: Coordinated Responses to Common Dangers, Stefan Frohlich
Reviewed by THOMAS SCHWARTZ

A Cold War Turning Point: Nixon and China, 1969–1972, Chris Tudda
Reviewed by ZHIQUN ZHU

Obama and China’s Rise: An Insider’s Account of America’s Asia Strategy, Jeffrey A. Bader
Reviewed by Peter Trubowitz

Hard Interests, Soft Illusions: Southeast Asia and American Power, Natasha Hamilton‐Hart
Reviewed by ALICE BA

America’s First Great Depression: Economic Crisis and Political Disorder after the Panic of 1837, Alasdair Roberts
Reviewed by JOHANN N. NEEM

Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence, Alan Gilbert
Reviewed by MARIE JENKINS SCHWARTZ

California Crucible: The Forging of Modern American Liberalism, Jonathan Bell
Reviewed by ADAM CARRINGTON

Eminent Victorians on American Democracy: The View from Albion, Frank Prochaska
Reviewed by ALEX ZAKARAS

Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation after 9/11, Peter Morey and Amina Yaqin
Reviewed by Abdulkader H. Sinno

Gay Rights at the Ballot Box, Amy L. Stone
Reviewed by DONALD P. HAIDER‐MARKEL

Madison’s Metronome: The Constitution, Majority Rule, and the Tempo of American Politics, Greg Weiner
Reviewed by JEREMY D. BAILEY

Oversight: Representing the Interests of Blacks and Latinos in Congress, Michael D. Minta
Reviewed by ROBERT R. PREUHS

The Congressional Budget Office: Honest Numbers, Power and Policymaking, Philip G. Joyce
Reviewed by KAREN KUNZ

The Floor in Congressional Life, Andrew J. Taylor
Reviewed by ANTHONY MADONNA

The Influence of Campaign Contributions in State Legislatures: The Effects of Institutions and Politics, Lynda W. Powell
Reviewed by Kirby Goidel

The Life of Herbert Hoover: Fighting Quaker, 1928–1933, Glen Jeansonne
Reviewed by OLESYA TKACHEVA

The President’s Czars: Undermining Congress and the Constitution, Mark J. Rozell and Mitchel A. Sollenberger
Reviewed by Adam L. Warber

The Republican Party and American Politics from Hoover to Reagan, Robert Mason
Reviewed by Michael K. Fauntroy

The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy, Kay Lehman Schlozman, Sidney Verba and Henry E. Brady
Reviewed by David C. Kimball

This is Not Civil Rights: Discovering Rights Talk in 1939 America, George I. Lovell
Reviewed by RICK A. SWANSON

The French Way: How France Embraced and Rejected American Values and Power, Richard Kuisel
Reviewed by Ronald Tiersky