Describing the elements of voter disaffection, party decline, mass mediation, social conflict and government by referendum which are prevalent in US politics, these essays offer a perspective on what is happening, how the present situation has been reached, and what the future may hold.

1 Change and the American Electorate - Part 1 Attitudes - 2 Looking at Leviathan: Dimensions of Opinion About Big Government - 3 The Angry Voter: Politics and Popular Discontent in the 1990s - 4 Economic Change and the Middle-Class Revolt Against the Democratic Party - Part 2 Involvement - 5 The Sixth American Party System: Electoral Change, 1952-1992 - 6 Public Judgment and Political Engagement in the 1992 Election - 7 Who's Talking? Who's Listening? The New Politics of Radio Talk Shows - 8 Citizens for Perot: Assessing Patterns of Alienation and Activism - Part 3 Groups - 9 The Gender Gap: A Manifestation of Women's Dissatisfaction with the American Polity? - 10 -The Religious Vote in American Politics: Value Conflict, Continuity, and Change - 11 The Social Contract in Black and White: Racial Differences in Evaluations of Government - Part 4 Linkage - 12 The Electoral Connection: Images of U.S. Senators and Representatives - 13 From Ward Heelers to Public Relations Experts: The Parties' Response to Mass Politics - 14 Who's the Boss? Direct Democracy and Popular Control of Government