Every section and every feature in the book has one goal in mind: to get students to think critically and be skeptical of received wisdom. Serving as a true aid to teachers, each chapter is designed to build students' analytical abilities. By introducing them to the seminal work in the field and showing them how to employ the themes of power and citizenship, this proven text builds confidence in students who want to take an active part in their communities and governmentuto play their part in keeping the republic, and to consider the consequences of that engagement.

Keeping the Republic gives students the power to examine the narrative of what's going on in American politics, distinguish fact from fiction and balance from bias, and influence the message through informed citizenship. Keeping the Republic draws students into the study of American politics, showing them how to think critically about “who gets what, and how” while exploring the twin themes of power and citizenship. Students are pushed to consider how and why institutions and rules determine who wins and who loses in American politics, and to be savvy consumers of political information. The thoroughly updated Eighth Edition considers how a major component of power is who controls the information, how it is assembled into narratives, and whether we come to recognize fact from fiction. Citizens now have unprecedented access to power – the ability to create and share their own narratives – while simultaneously being even more vulnerable to those trying to shape their views. The political landscape of today gives us new ways to keep the republic, and some high-tech ways to lose it. Throughout the text and its features, authors Christine Barbour and Gerald Wright show students how to effectively apply the critical thinking skills they develop to the political information they encounter every day. Students are challenged to deconstruct prevailing narratives and effectively harness the political power of the information age for themselves. Up-to-date with 2018 election results and analysis, as well as the impact of recent Supreme Court rulings, shifting demographics, and emerging and continuing social movements, Keeping the Republic, Eighth Edition is a much-needed resource to help students make sense of politics in America today. Carefully condensed from the full version by authors Christine Barbour and Gerald Wright, Keeping the Republic, Brief Edition gives your students all the continuity and crucial content, in a more concise, value-oriented package. Also available as a digital option (courseware). Contact your rep to learn more about Keeping the Republic, Eighth Brief Edition - Vantage Digital Option.

This refreshed and dynamic Eighth Edition of Keeping the Republic revitalizes the twin themes of power and citizenship by adding to the imperative for students to navigate competing political narratives about who should get what, and how they should get it. The exploding possibilities of the digital age make this task all the more urgent and complex. Christine Barbour and Gerald Wright, the authors of this bestseller, continue to meet students where they are in order to give them a sophisticated understanding of American politics and teach them the skills to think critically about it. The entire book has been refocused to look not just at power and citizenship but at the role that control of information and its savvy consumption play in keeping the republic. Keeping the Republic, The Essentials is identical to the full version of the text, minus the three policy chapters.

Lurking in the back of the minds of many students of American government is the question, “How well does the American political system work?” This book examines this in a way that is broad in approach and accessible to readers. Such an ambitious examination of the effectiveness of the American policymaking system leads to one inescapable question: how can you measure “effectiveness?” The answer taken in this book is to employ a number of different criteria. These criteria include: •the public’s attitudes towards the institutions of government •the degree in which all participate equally in political activities •the level of which public policy is responsive to public opinion •the ability of the actors in the process to create effective public policy •the extent the political system imposes costs and benefits on us equally, regardless of our economic condition race, gender, or age In doing so, this book ties together and expands upon numerous scholarly studies conducted on American public policymaking and uses David Truman’s Systems Model as a conceptual guide. Because of the large amount of data presented, the book will also serve as a reference source for others conducting research on American public policy.

A consistent and compelling narrative is crucial to student engagement with any book. But sadly, so many brief editions are mere cut-and-paste versions of their comprehensive selves. Not the case with Keeping the RepublicÆs brief edition. Carefully condensed by Barbour and Wright, this text gives your students all the continuity and crucial content of the full version, just in a more concise, value-oriented package. And now, your students benefit from a new full-color interior design. Photos jump off the page and colorful charts, tables, and maps enhance studentsÆ data literacy. Repeatedly praised for engaging students to think critically about ôwho gets what and howö in American politics, Barbour and Wright show them how institutions and rules determine who wins and who loses in the political arena. The authors carefully craft each graphic, boxed feature, and vignette to develop studentsÆ analytic capabilities. By introducing them to the seminal work in the field and showing them how to employ the themes of power and citizenship, this proven text builds confidence in students who want to take an active part in their communities and governmentùso they play their part in keeping the republic.

Barbour and Wright draw students into the study of American politics, teaching them to think critically about who gets what, and how and exploring twin themes of power and citizenship. They are pushed to consider how and why institutions and rules determine who wins and who loses in American politics and to be skeptical of received wisdom. Every element of the text is crafted to provide the tools students need to be thoughtful, savvy consumers of political information and to teach them to think more deeply about what they see, read, and hear. Going even further in this new edition, the authors have partnered with award-winning information designer and teacher Mike Wirth to create a series of stunning, data-rich infographics that appear throughout the text, presenting information in new, more revealing ways. Combining critical thinking skills, pedagogically rich visuals, and the seminal work in the field of American politics, this trusted text is ideal for students who want to take an active part in their communities and governmentto play their part in keeping the republic.

Reviews each chapter' s key concepts through learning objectives, chapter summaries, practice tests, and critical-thinking exercises based on the chapter' s key themes.