The Challenge of Politics

Neal Riemer (late) was the Andrew V. Stout Professor of Political Philosophy at Drew University. After receiving a PhD from Harvard University, he taught at the Pennsylvania State University; the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; University of Innsbruck, Austria; and Drew University. His books include Problems of American Government (editor); World Affairs: Problems and Prospects (coauthor); The Revival of Democratic Theory; The Democratic Experiment; The Future of the Democratic Revolution: Toward a More Prophetic Politics; New Thinking and Developments in International Politics: Opportunities and Dangers (editor/coauthor); Karl Marx and Prophetic Politics; James Madison: Creating the American Constitution; Creative Breakthroughs in Politics; Let Justice Roll: Prophetic Challenges in Religion, Politics, and Society (editor/coauthor); and Protection Against Genocide: Mission Impossible (editor).

Douglas W. Simon is emeritus professor of political science at Drew University, where he specialized in international affairs, U.S. foreign policy, international organization, and national security. After receiving a BA from Willamette University, he served as an officer in U.S. air force intelligence, including a tour in Vietnam. Following his military service he earned a PhD at the University of Oregon. After arriving at Drew, he directed the university's Semester on the United Nations for fifteen years, served as convener of Drew's Masters in International Affairs Program, and later was department chair. In addition to The Challenge of Politics, he is coauthor of New Thinking and Developments in International Politics: Opportunities and Dangers and has contributed to such publications as the Harvard Journal of World Affairs, East Asian Survey, Comparative Political Studies, International Studies Notes, Teaching Political Science, and Society.


Joseph Romance is associate professor of political science at Fort Hays State University, teaching in the fields of American politics and political theory. He received a BA from the College of William and Mary and a PhD from Rutgers University. He is coauthor, with Theodore Lowi and Gerald Pomper, of A Republic of Parties: Debating the Two Party System; coauthor of and contributor to Democracy and Excellence: Conflict or Concord?; and coeditor of Democracy's Literature. His articles and reviews have appeared in a number of journals, including American Review of Politics, The Responsive Community, Perspectives on Political Science, and Newsday. He has also contributed pieces to a number of edited volumes, including Progressive Politics in the Global Age and Friends and Citizens. He currently is working on a book about political foundings.

So often, political science is introduced to students as a segmented field. The Challenge of Politics instead enables students to see how the subfields converge around a set of crucial questions: can we, as citizens and students articulate and defend a view of the good political life and its guiding political values? Can we develop a science of politics to help us understand significant political phenomenaùthe empirical realities of politics? Can we bring a high level of political prudence or wisdom to bear on judgments about politics and public issues? Can citizens and students creatively address the future of politics?Riemer, Simon, and Romance aim to harmonize the valuable lessons of classic and contemporary theory, as well as to reconcile politics to scientific and empirical study. The book gives students an avenue to explore the impact of philosophy and ideology, to recognize major forms of government, to evaluate empirical findings, and to understand how policy issues directly affect peopleÆs lives. Throughout, the authors look at political dynamics of American, comparative, and international affairs. While continuing to pursue its distinctive normative approach and showing politics to be a potentially humanizing enterprise, this new edition of Challenge has been revised and updated for major world events like the global financial crisis, recent elections in the U.S. and elsewhere, important policy decisions like the recent Supreme Court ruling in the U.S. on healthcare, and the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Based on reviewer feedback, it has also been substantially streamlined throughout.

Showing how the subfields of political science converge, this book provides students with an avenue through which they can explore philosophy and ideology, to recognize major forms of government, to evaluate empirical findings, and to understand how policy issues affect people's lives

Introduction
I. RULES OF THE GAME
1. Games Politicians Play
2. Politics and Choice
3. Political Science: Components, Tasks, and Controversies
4. The Physical, Social, and Cultural Environment of Politics
II. POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND IDEOLOGY
5. The Quest for the Good Political Life
6. Liberal Democracy
7. Democratic Socialism and Communism: Ideologies of the Left
8. Toward a General Understanding of Dictatorship and Authoritarian States
III. COMPARATIVE AND WORLD POLITICS
9. The Political Values of Political Actors
10. National Politics: Culture, Constitutions, Citizens
11. National Politics: Governmental Actors
12. International Politics and the Global Community
IV. POLITICAL JUDGMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY
13. War and Peace in the Modern Age
14. The Battle on Behalf of Human Rights
15. The Struggle for Economic Well-Being
16. The Imperative of Ecological Health
Conclusion