Revised and updated to take into account recent changes in the nature of American government, this edition provides an introduction to US politics for all students of political science. It explains, analyzes and interprets the processes of US government, and appraises them from a non-US perspective. The book fills in the social background to American political and economic life, preparing the ground for the central discussion of the book: the institutions of the federal, government, Congress, the Supreme Court and the Constitution, the federal system, the Presidency, the party bandwagons and electoral circuses - all are analyzed in turn. McKay guides readers through federal bureaucracy, and assesses the power of interest groups. The book has been expanded to include separate chapters devoted to beliefs and values, social, economic and foreign policy. Throughout, it provides an up-to-date survey of the views and criticisms of political commentators on the American scene.