Innovations and Trends in the Study of American Politics

Abstract

Three significant trends or innovations in the recent literature of American politics and government are re viewed: the large and ever-growing number of studies of po litical socialization which have blossomed forth in the last half decade; the great increase in studies of Congress (par ticularly those focusing on congressional committees, roll-call voting behavior, and congressional leadership) as compared to those of the executive branch; and the application of quanti tative techniques in the comparative study of the policy out puts of American state governments. The substance of each of these distinct bodies of writing is surveyed and evaluated for its theoretical and methodological significance and for its contribution to the discipline's knowledge of the operations of the American political system.