Examining democracies from a comparative perspective helps us better understand why politics—or, as Harold Lasswell famously said, "who gets what, when, and how"—differ among democracies. American Difference: A Guide to American Politics in Comparative Perspective takes the reader through different aspects of democracy—political culture, institutions, interest groups, political parties, and elections—and, unlike other works, explores how the United States is both different from and similar to other democracies. The fully updated Second Edition has been expanded to include several new chapters and discussion on civil liberties and civil rights, constitutional arrangements, elections and electoral institutions, and electoral behavior. This edition also includes data around the 2016 general election and 2018 midterm election.

Includes section "Recent publications."

Analyzes how imagery and rhetoric of pan-American grandeur from 1845 to 1950 used Latin America as a foil for creating US national identity and a particular American way of feeling.