Based on the best-selling, full-length text THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOCRACY: GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA, Tenth Edition, this brief version maintains the same framework and motifs in a shorter format. The pedagogy is linked to two main themes: the conflicting values of freedom, order, and equality, and the majoritarianism versus pluralism debate. Extensively updated, this edition includes new examples, figures, data, and discussions about current issues. The authors have also added a balanced retrospective of the Bush presidency, as well as a focus on globalization and its implications and new comparative features that place the U.S. in a global context.

The Seventh Edition also includes access to AmericansGoverning.org, an online learning environment designed specifically to engage students in the political process through a variety of media, including original videos, campaign commercials, writing excerpts, simulations, and additional sources. Additional media tools include the new "In Our Own Words" feature—downloadable chapter overviews in MP3 format narrated by the authors—and marginal references to the award-winning site, IDEAlog.org.