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Informationen zum Autor Gary W. Reichard is Provost / Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of History at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York. In addition to teaching post-World War II United States history at the college level, Reichard has taught the history of American political parties and the history of American immigration and ethnicity. He is the author of The Reaffirmation of Republicanism: Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Eighty-third Congress and Politics as Usual: The Age of Truman and Eisenhower (2nd Ed.), and is a former member of the Executive Board of the Organization of American Historians. Klappentext Polarization, divisiveness, and dysfunction are defining features of early 21st-century American politics--with no apparent end in sight. How did we get here? Deadlock and Disillusionment: American Politics Since 1968 explores the politics and policy debates, from the Nixon administration to the waning days of the Obama presidency, that have shaped the present-day political landscape. Rejecting the conventional wisdom that the recent political era has been characterized by the rise and primacy of the political right, in this latest volume in the distinguished American History Series, Gary Reichard shows how recent decades have been characterized by a hardening deadlock between the parties and increasing disillusionment in the electorate. Initial chapters take us from Nixon's cynical "Southern strategy" and the emergent Republican majority, to the Watergate scandal and its aftermath, up through the abandonment of idealism in the late 1970s. Themes explored in the decade of the '80s include the rise of the right-wing politics, culture wars, and Reaganomics--followed by a look at the very real costs of "trickle down" economics. Reichard then traces the deepening divide of the final decade of the twentieth century by exploring such issues as the illusion of a liberal revival, the quest for a post-Cold War foreign policy, and the crises of the Clinton presidency. Coverage of the polarizing politics of the early years of the new millennium includes the divisive resolution of Bush vs. Gore and partisan battles over the war on terrorism. The concluding chapter explores partisanship since 2008 by looking at the politics of hope, government by dysfunction, and the trench warfare that is contemporary politics. Timely and thought-provoking, Deadlock and Disillusionment offers illuminating insights into the roots and evolution of the near permanent state of gridlock that has come to define America's contemporary political era. Zusammenfassung Deadlock and Disillusionment: American Politics Since 1968 is an insightful consideration of the events people, and policy debates that have shaped and continue to influence, even control, the current political era. Inhaltsverzeichnis List of Illustrations viiPreface ixIntroduction: 1968--The End of an Era 11 The Politics of Cynicism, 1968-1974 5The Shaping of a New Majority 7Conservatism as Reform 16The Politics of War and Détente 19Watergate and Its Aftermath 302 The Futility of Moderation, 1974-1976 43The Politics of Forgiveness 44President as Political Prisoner 48Détente Derailed 533 Dashed Hopes, 1976-1980 60Fractured Majority 61Threading the Needle 73The Abandonment of Idealism 784 Dogma and (More) Disappointment, 1980-1988 89The Rise of the Right 90Reaganomics 96Culture Wars and Party Politics 107Reagan's World 1175 Squandering the Inheritance, 1988-1992 136Succession by Hardball 137The Bills Come Due 144New World (Dis)Order 1536 The Deepening Divide, 1992-2000 171The Illusion of Liberal Revival 172The Politics of Triangulation 187Quest for a Post-Cold War Foreign Policy 200Crises of the Clinton Presidency 2127 The Politics of Polarization, 2000-2008 221Ultimate Deadlock: Bush v. Gore 222The Politics of Anti?]terrorism 233Imagined Mandate 2...
Table des matières
List of Illustrations vii
Preface ix
Introduction: 1968--The End of an Era 1
1 The Politics of Cynicism, 1968-1974 5
The Shaping of a New Majority 7
Conservatism as Reform 16
The Politics of War and Détente 19
Watergate and Its Aftermath 30
2 The Futility of Moderation, 1974-1976 43
The Politics of Forgiveness 44
President as Political Prisoner 48
Détente Derailed 53
3 Dashed Hopes, 1976-1980 60
Fractured Majority 61
Threading the Needle 73
The Abandonment of Idealism 78
4 Dogma and (More) Disappointment, 1980-1988 89
The Rise of the Right 90
Reaganomics 96
Culture Wars and Party Politics 107
Reagan's World 117
5 Squandering the Inheritance, 1988-1992 136
Succession by Hardball 137
The Bills Come Due 144
New World (Dis)Order 153
6 The Deepening Divide, 1992-2000 171
The Illusion of Liberal Revival 172
The Politics of Triangulation 187
Quest for a Post-Cold War Foreign Policy 200
Crises of the Clinton Presidency 212
7 The Politics of Polarization, 2000-2008 221
Ultimate Deadlock: Bush v. Gore 222
The Politics of Anti?]terrorism 233
Imagined Mandate 248
The Politics of Certitude 262
8 The Politics of Red and Blue, since 2008 277
The Politics of Hope 279
Government by Dysfunction 296
The Politics of Trench Warfare 315
Conclusion: Deadlock and Disillusionment 328
Bibliographical Essay 335
Index 355
