Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State [Paperback]

Brian Janiskee (Author), Ken Masugi (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0742548368 | ISBN-13: 978-0742548367 | Publication Date: July 9, 2007 | Edition: 2nd Edition

Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State is readable and thought-provoking. It is not the standard 'textbook' example of a textbook. Brian P. Janiskee and Ken Masugi clearly explain the politics and character of California's governmental institutions and the dynamics affecting the lives of its citizens. The second edition is updated throughout and includes analysis of the 2006 elections, the 2005 special election, and the unprecedented 2003 recall election. In addition to thorough coverage of California's constitution and development, this book also examines each branch of government as well as local systems. As Janiskee and Masugi explore the nature of public opinion, parties, and campaigns, they show the effects that the state's diverse population has on all levels of politics and government. Janiskee and Masugi have added case studies to each chapter, bringing ideas to life and challenging the reader to become an active participant in California politics. The case studies are ideal starting points for class discussions. Perfect for courses in American government and state and local politics, Democracy in California is a succinct guide to the governmental intricacies of our nation's most populous state.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Non-Californians and even some Californians struggle to understand the State's various political, social, and economic crosscurrents. Democracy in California sorts through the complexities of this diverse and trend-setting state. The book artfully puts the present situation in the context of the state's history. If you want to understand California's exceptionalism, beyond the trite clichés, here's a good place to start. (Steven Greenhut )

In their succinct, highly-readable, and now updated guide to California politics, Janiskee and Masugi provide a historical overview and contemporary account of the major constitutional features, governmental arrangements, fiscal practices, and diverse social characteristics of the Golden State. Aiming high, they consciously model their Democracy in California on Tocqueville's Democracy in America. They offer thoughtful meditations on Tocqueville's insights into the principles, problems, andprospects of democratic life. Their aim is uncannily accurate. This is an indispensable book for anyone wishing to understand and assess the successes and failures of California politics and government... (Rossum, Ralph A. )

Democracy in California is the best book of its kind. With a view to the enduring questions of political life, the authors present a view of the Golden State unlike that of any other textbook available today. The case studies are especially useful, providing students with readable and memorable examples of the central ideas of each chapter. The result is a cogent yet comprehensive account of America’s most important state. (Scot Zentner )

In their succinct, highly-readable, and now updated guide to California politics, Janiskee and Masugi provide a historical overview and contemporary account of the major constitutional features, governmental arrangements, fiscal practices, and diverse social characteristics of the Golden State. Aiming high, they consciously model their Democracy in California on Tocqueville's Democracy in America. They offer thoughtful meditations on Tocqueville's insights into the principles, problems, and prospects of democratic life. Their aim is uncannily accurate. This is an indispensable book for anyone wishing to understand and assess the successes and failures of California politics and government. (Rossum, Ralph A. )

About the Author

Brian Janiskee is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at California State University at San Bernardino, where he is also a faculty member in the national security studies program. In addition, he is a fellow at the Claremont Institute and active with its Center for Local Government. He has published several articles in topics ranging from special districts to crime policy to presidential elections. He lives in Highland, California. Ken Masugi was director of the Center for Local Government of the Claremont Institute. He is editor of Interpreting Tocqueville's 'Democracy in America' (described in the American Political Science Review as representing a 'revolution in Tocqueville scholarship') and coeditor of four other books on modern and American political thought. He has served in the federal government as a speechwriter for high-level officials, including members of the Cabinet.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 2nd Edition edition (July 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742548368
• ISBN-13: 978-0742548367
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rare Textbook Find: California Politics With a Purpose, September 22, 2002

By 

Richard H. Reeb Jr. (Barstow College, Barstow, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State (Paperback)

For those who teach American politics and government, there are distressingly few good textbook choices available for national or state courses. A rare exception to the dismayingly dreary or tiresomely trendy tomes that abound is "Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State." Authors Brian P. Janiskee and Ken Masugi have combined the standard features (formal and informal institutions, demographics, historical vignettes, recent developments, political terminology, etc.) with a thoughtful historical and philosophical approach that places California within the broad scope of American experience and Western political thought.
As its title suggests, this distinctive text draws both high inspiration and practical wisdom specifically from Alexis de Tocqueville's classic study, "Democracy in America" (1835). But the book is more than high-minded or useful: it is dead-on timely too. Tocqueville observed America during the Age of Jackson, early in the pre-Civil War crisis (1830-60) which both preceded and shaped California government. Thus, California was founded at a time (1849-50) when, as Tocqueville knew, republican government was under severe attack from Southern slavemasters and European autocrats. To the extent that the influence of the American founding was not attenuated by these attacks, the new State of California was both representative and free. But having weathered those challenges, California (and the nation) have had to endure the various phases and consequences of the Prussian administrative state which was the questionable contribution of the Progressive movement in the decades since the State's admission to the Union by the Compromise of 1850.
California has been shaped for good or for ill by these competing forces and is necessarily presented in this work as a sort of hodge podge in which multiple offices, frequent elections and political cronyism (the Jacksonian contribution) overlap with direct democracy, anti-partyism and professional expertise (the Progressive contribution). The battle over slavery shaped the State's original identity as a free state in the midst of a bitter sectional dispute but also long tainted its politics with racism. California defied the odds against republican government but the rise of the administrative state and its seemingly boundless taxing and spending--and bureaucratic meddling--puts the future of that regime in serious question. Not everything could be included in this relatively short (160 pages) work but no salient fact is overlooked as it bears upon the future of democracy in the Golden State.
The authors are discerning students of political philsophy, best exemplified today by Harry V. Jaffa, who single-handedly rescued Abraham Lincoln and principled anti-slavery politics from the near-oblivion of the professional historians. Janiskee and Masugi in turn seek to rescue California politics (but not many of its leading politicians)from the academic dead end to which years of pseudo-scientific approaches have relegated it. "Democracy in California" makes the study of California government and politics a much more serious and rewarding enterprise than it has been for many years and will be, if this book is widely adopted, for many more. Extensive footnotes and excellent bibliography. Highest recommendation.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars interesting, February 2, 2009

By 

Victor e. Beltran iii - See all my reviews

This review is from: Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State (Paperback)

I bought this book upset because i have to fulfill a California requirement to graduate. Yet I have to say I found it an interesting read. It really opened my eyes about certain topics in California.

5.0 out of 5 stars Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State, December 19, 2011

By 

cindyp3118 - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Democracy in California: Politics and Government in the Golden State (Paperback)

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