New Releases by Martin P Wattenberg

In 2008, everyone expected young people to turn out to vote in record numbers for the first youthful, hip, new media-savvy, African American presidential candidate in history. They didn’t. When Obama ran for re-election, he targeted young voters and they still didn’t come to the polls in overwhelming numbers. What will happen in 2016, another potential history-making election? Is Voting for Young People? explores the reasons why young people are less likely to follow politics and vote in the United States (as well as in many other established democracies) no matter who the candidates are, whether they tweet or blog, or what the issues may be. This brief, accessible, and provocative book suggests ways of changing that, and now includes a new chapter on young people''s role in the 2008, 2012, and 2014 elections, looking ahead to 2016. New to the Fourth Edition: A new introduction placing current youth voting trends in context with recent elections. A new Chapter 8 covering the elections of 2008, 2012, and 2014—looking ahead to 2016. Updated voting data on 2012 and 2014 elections. A new concluding chapter offering recommendations for improving young voter turnout.

As the confusion over the ballots in Florida in 2000 demonstrated, American elections are complex and anything but user-friendly. This phenomenon is by no means new, but with the weakening of political parties in recent decades and the rise of candidate-centered politics, the high level of complexity has become ever more difficult for many citizens to navigate. Thus the combination of complex elections and the steady decline of the party system has led to a decline in voter turnout. In this timely book, Martin Wattenberg confronts the question of what low participation rates mean for democracy. At the individual level, turnout decline has been highest among the types of people who most need to have electoral decisions simplified for them through a strong party system--those with the least education, political knowledge, and life experience. As Wattenberg shows, rather than lamenting how many Americans fail to exercise their democratic rights, we should be impressed with how many arrive at the polls in spite of a political system that asks more of a typical person than is reasonable. Meanwhile, we must find ways to make the American electoral process more user-friendly.

Containing all the engaging and effective features that have made Government in America, , successful, the Brief Edition presents students with exactly what they need to know in their pursuit of the study of the American Government. This Brief Edition, with new discussions inserted into the text, gives students the most current and accurate portrait of their government with the least amount of disruption to instructors. The currency of the book will help engage students in the text material will help to answer their questions about the ways in which the tragedy has impacted our lives and our system.

Every presidential election since 1964 has been won by the candidate backed by the most united party; yet as party unity has become more important to voting decisions, it has also become increasingly difficult to achieve. In his latest book, Martin Wattenberg offers an in-depth interpretation of the presidential elections of the 1980s, illuminating current theories of political behavior and how they operate in today''s candidate-centered politics. Wattenberg investigates the impact that political parties'' declining relevance has had on presidential politics. As the parties'' ability to polarize opinion weakened and voters were set politically adrift, the candidates themselves had to fill the power vacuum. Interestingly, as the candidates have become more prominent, their popularity has spiraled downward. Wattenberg''s national survey data debunks the notion of Reagan as the "teflon president;'' demonstrating that many negative judgments stuck to Reagan''s public image throughout the 1980s, particularly the criticisms of his conservative policies. The author''s intricate analysis shows that many people were torn between candidates whose policies they preferred and those who they thought would produce the best results, and these contradictory attitudes were primarily resolved in favor of Reagan and Bush. This book is not only the successor volume to the author''s widely used book on American parties, it is also a controversial and thought-provoking commentary on American parties, politics, and representative government.

AUTHOR ANALYZES SURVEY RESEARCH THAT SHOWS VOTERS HAVE BECOME MORE NEUTRAL THAN NEGATIVE TOWARD PARTIES AND THAT THE PARTIES ARE INCREASINGLY IRRELEVANT TO THE SOLVING OF REAL NATIONAL PROBLEMS.