The Triumph of Polarized Partisanship in 2016: Donald Trump’s Improbable Victory
Gary C. Jacobson discusses the reasons Donald Trump’s victory was so improbable, considers why he won anyway, and speculates about what this portends for national politics going forward. He also analyzes the 2016 congressional elections. He finds them, by comparison, uneventful, but with results that confirm the thoroughly partisan, president-centered, and polarized nature of contemporary American electoral politics.

When Do the Rich Win?
J. ALEXANDER BRANHAM, STUART N. SOROKA, and Christopher Wlezien examine the influence of economic “haves” and “have-nots” on public policy decisions in the United States. They find that the middle class, the rich, and the poor almost always agree on policies. When they disagree, the rich win only slightly more often. They conclude that the rich may matter more than they seemingly should but they do not dominate policymaking.

Unequal Partners: U.S. Collaboration with China and India in Research and Development
Andrew B. Kennedy argues that the globalization of research and development has generated an interdependence among the United States, China, and India, but such that generally favors Washington. Nonetheless, several constraints make it difficult for the U.S. government to exploit this potential.

Israeli Perceptions of the Iranian Nuclear Threat
Gil Merom analyzes the multiple levels of what he characterizes as an Israeli “alarmist” perception of the Iranian nuclear threat. He argues that Iran’s nuclear military program would be less of a threat than argued by the Netanyahu government and that it would not merit an Israeli strategic change, be it formally exposing Israel’s nuclear capabilities or striking Iran preventively. 

Military Aid and Human Rights: Assessing the Impact of U.S. Security Assistance Programs
MARIYA OMELICHEVA, BRITTNEE CARTER, and LUKE B. CAMPBELL assess the relationship between U.S. security assistance programs and the degree to which foreign militaries respect civilian human rights in times of political instability. They conclude that these programs do not have a uniform impact on human rights practices in the states that receive U.S. military aid. Rather, the relationship is contingent upon various factors, primarily whether security assistance programs include an educational and training component.

The Roberts Court and Democracy: A Review Essay on Judicial Review and Liberal Critique
ERIC SEGALL reviews Stephen Gottlieb’s recently published book Unfit for Democracy: The Roberts Court and the Breakdown of American Politics. He agrees with Gottlieb’s argument that the Roberts Court has too often neglected the needs of racial minorities, the poor, and the disenfranchised. Segall suggests that Gottlieb could have made a more persuasive case by setting forth in more detail the conservative positions supporting the Roberts Court decisions.

The New Russia, Mikhail Gorbachev
Reviewed by Archie Brown

The Envoy: From Kabul to the White House, My Journey Through a Turbulent World, Zalmay Khalilzad
Reviewed by Paul R. Pillar

Political Peoplehood: The Role of Values, Interests, and Identities, Rogers M. Smith
Reviewed by Ken I. Kersch

Going to War in Iraq: When Citizens and the Press Matter, George E. Marcus, Stanley Feldman and Leonie Huddy
Reviewed by SHANA KUSHNER GADARIAN

Narrative and the Making of U.S. National Security, Ronald R. Krebs
Reviewed by JARROD HAYES

From Resilience to Revolution: How Foreign Interventions Destabilize the Middle East, Sean L. Yom
Reviewed by David A. Lake

American Pendulum: Recurring Debates in U.S. Grand Strategy, Christopher Hemmer
Reviewed by PETER HARRIS

Finding Common Ground: The Art of Legislating in an Age of Gridlock, Dave Bishop
Reviewed by CARLY SCHMITT

Why Washington Won’t Work, Marc J. Hetherington and Thomas J. Rudolph
Reviewed by Laurel Harbridge

Networks in Contention: The Divisive Politics of Climate Change, Jennifer Hadden
Reviewed by JESSICA F. GREEN

Minority Parties in U.S. Legislatures: Conditions of Influence, Jennifer Hayes Clark
Reviewed by JESSE RICHMAN

The Workfare State: Public Assistance Politics from the New Deal to the New Democrats, Eva Bertram
Reviewed by SARA E. DAHILL-BROWN

The Limits of Legitimacy: Dissenting Opinions, Media Coverage, and Public Responses to Supreme Court Decisions, Michael A. Zilis
Reviewed by MORGAN L.W. HAZELTON

Governors, Grants, and Elections: Fiscal Federalism in the American States, Sean Nicholson-Crotty
Reviewed by Vladimir Kogan

Godless Democrats and Pious Republicans? Party Activists, Party Capture, and the “God Gap”, Ryan L. Claassen
Reviewed by BEN GASKINS

The Politics of Autism: Navigating the Contested Spectrum, John J. Pitney, Jr
Reviewed by DAVID SKUBBY

Black Silent Majority: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Politics of Punishment, Michael Javen Fortner
Reviewed by Christopher T. Stout

Hacking the Electorate: How Campaigns Perceive Voters, Eitan D. Hersh
Reviewed by DAVID KARPF

The Rise of the Right to Know: Politics and the Culture of Transparency, Michael Schudson
Reviewed by Jason Ross Arnold

Women of Power: Half a Century of Female Presidents and Prime Ministers, Torild Skard
Reviewed by LIAM PRINCE

Broken Trust: Dysfunctional Government and Constitutional Reform, Stephen M. Griffin
Reviewed by EMILY ZACKIN

When Should State Secrets Stay Secret? Accountability, Democratic Governance, and Intelligence, Genevieve Lester
Reviewed by BRIANA R. MORGAN

The Polythink Syndrome: U.S. Foreign Policy Decisions on 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and ISIS, Alex Mintz and Carly Wayne
Reviewed by David Patrick Houghton

Reassuring the Reluctant Warriors: U.S. Civil-Military Relations and Multilateral Intervention, Stefano Recchia
Reviewed by TERRENCE L. CHAPMAN

Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right, Seth Dowland
Reviewed by BENJAMIN T. TOLL

Independent Politics: How American Disdain for Parties Leads to Political Inaction, Samara Klar and Yanna Krupnikov
Reviewed by CHRIS BAYLOR

Democracy Reinvented: Participatory Budgeting and Civic Innovation in America, Hollie Russon Gilman
Reviewed by GARY A. MATTSON

The VP Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting in Presidential Elections, Christopher Devine and Kyle C. Kopko
Reviewed by Jordan M. Ragusa