American Politics Today and Faultlines

Show students how politics really works through a focus on conflict and compromise.

This newly updated fourth edition of American Politics Today helps students understand the conflicts and compromises inherent in politics and allows them to practice applying that understanding to the debates and controversies they encounter in the news. By focusing on such pivotal topics as conflict and compromise, students are able to see how institutions and political processes really work.

In each chapter, two or more readings present opposing perspectives on contemporary political issues. About half of the readings are new, and most address current issues such as immigration policy and income inequality. Headnotes in every chapter put the readings into a broader political context, and each chapter concludes with discussion questions that encourage students to think critically about the readings and the issues they raise.