Providing the tools for critical thinking, the fifth edition of Analyzing American Democracy: Politics and Political Science relies on statistical analysis, constitutional scholarship, and theoretical foundations to introduce the structure, process, and outcomes of the U.S. political system. Interpretation and implications of the 2022 mid-term elections and full results of the 2020 census are included, as are discussions of:: the January 6th commission, major developments in the Supreme Court, the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and other key political events that shape domestic, foreign, judicial, and economic policies. For introductory courses in American government, this text covers theory and methods as well.

New to the Fifth Edition

• New and updated statistical data reflecting the 2020 census and the 2022 midterm elections, and discussions of the implications of the data and the results.

• Offers a retrospective analysis of the entire Trump presidency and the first years of the Biden presidency.

• Examines contemporary questions of social justice and anticipates upcoming challenges to voting rights, affirmative action policies, health care and reproductive rights, and protections for ethnic minorities and the LGBT community.

• Previews the policy implications of an increasingly partisan Supreme Court, recaps the controversial recent decisions on health care, abortion, and environmental policy, and covers the historic confirmation of new justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson.