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The Challenge of Democracy: American Government in Global Politics, 16th Edition

Kenneth Janda, Jeffrey M. Berry, Jerry Goldman, Deborah Schildkraut, Paul Manna

  • Copyright 2026
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2025-01-01T00:00:00+0000')}}
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The Challenge of Democracy: American Government in Global Politics 16th Edition by Kenneth Janda/Jeffrey M. Berry/Jerry Goldman/Deborah Schildkraut/Paul Manna
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Overview

Packed with all-new examples, art and data, Janda/Berry/Goldman/Schildkraut/Manna's THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOCRACY: AMERICAN GOVERNMENT IN GLOBAL POLITICS, 16th Edition, explores how the clash of values surrounding freedom, order and equality characterize U.S. politics. The authors vividly illustrate tensions between majoritarian and pluralist views of democracy across the political landscape and examine how political institutions and outputs compare to those in other countries. Extensively updated, this revision highlights the fragility of American democracy as well as the importance of norms in shaping how provisions of the Constitution work in practice. This text is also available with MindTap.

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Meet the Authors

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Kenneth Janda

Kenneth Janda is the Payson S. Wild Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Northwestern University. He has published extensively in comparative party politics, research methodology and early use of computer technology in political science, for which he received awards from EDUCOM and support from Apple. His American Political Science Association awards include the Samuel Eldersveld Lifetime Achievement Award for his studies of party politics (2000) and the Frank J. Goodnow Award for distinguished service to the profession and the association (2009). Dr. Janda and fellow author Dr. Jerry Goldman shared APSA technology awards in 1992 for the IDEAlog computer program and in 2005 for the IDEAlog website. His most recent books are A TALE OF TWO PARTIES; LIVING AMONGST DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS SINCE 1952 (2021) and THE REPUBLICAN EVOLUTION: FROM GOVERNING PARTY TO ANTIGOVERNMENT PARTY, 1860-2020 (2022).

Jeffrey M. Berry

Jeffrey M. Berry is the John Richard Skuse Professor of Political Science at Tufts University. In addition to the American Political Science Association's Samuel Eldersveld Lifetime Achievement Award (2009), Dr. Berry received APSA "best book" awards for THE REBIRTH OF URBAN DEMOCRACY (1994), A VOICE FOR NONPROFITS (2004) and LOBBYING AND POLITICAL CHANGE (2009) as well as an award from the Policy Studies Organization for THE NEW LIBERALISM (1999). His most recent book is THE OUTRAGE INDUSTRY: POLITICAL OPINION MEDIA AND THE NEW INCIVILITY (with Sarah Sobieraj). Following undergraduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, he completed his doctorate at Johns Hopkins University.

Jerry Goldman

Jerry Goldman is professor emeritus of political science at Northwestern University. He is the 2010 recipient of the first American Political Science Association/CQ Press Award for Teaching Innovation in Political Science and has received many other awards, including the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel for increasing the public's understanding of the law, the EDUCOM Medal and the Roman & Littlefield Prize for Teaching Innovation. In 2012, Dr. Goldman made the Fastcase 50: "the 50 most interesting, provocative and courageous leaders in the world of law, scholarship and legal technology". Through the Oyez multimedia Supreme Court archive project at oyez.org, he has brought the U.S. Supreme Court closer to everyone. Following undergraduate work at Brooklyn College, he completed his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University.

Deborah Schildkraut

Deborah J. Schildkraut is professor of political science at Tufts University. She is the author of STATES OF BELONGING: IMMIGRATION POLITICS, ATTITUDES, AND INCLUSION (2021), AMERICANISM IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: PUBLIC OPINION IN THE AGE OF IMMIGRATION (2011), PRESS "ONE" FOR ENGLISH: LANGUAGE POLICY, PUBLIC OPINION, AND AMERICAN IDENTITY (2005) and several research articles. Her research focuses on the implications of the changing ethnic composition of the United States on public opinion in a variety of domains. Professor Schildkraut has received awards from the American Political Science Association for the best book published in the field of political psychology (2012) and for the best paper presented in the field of elections, public opinion and voting behavior (2009). In addition, she has served on the Board of Overseers for the American National Election Study and as a reviewer for the National Science Foundation. Following undergraduate work at Tufts University, she completed her Ph.D. at Princeton University.

Paul Manna

Paul Manna is the Isabelle and Jerome E. Hyman Distinguished University Professor of Government at William & Mary, where he also is director of the Public Policy Program. His work focuses on American politics, policy implementation, federalism, bureaucracy and research methods. Dr. Manna is the author of SCHOOL'S IN: FEDERALISM AND THE NATIONAL EDUCATION AGENDA (2006) and COLLISION COURSE: FEDERAL EDUCATION POLICY MEETS STATE AND LOCAL REALITIES (2011) as well as co-editor of EDUCATION GOVERNANCE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: OVERCOMING THE STRUCTURAL BARRIERS TO SCHOOL REFORM (2013). His public-facing scholarship includes partnering with The Wallace Foundation along with state governments and universities, local school districts and nongovernmental organizations to help develop excellent school principals across the U.S. states. After graduating with his B.A. in political science from Northwestern University, he taught social studies in his hometown public high school before earning his M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin.

What's New

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  • Substantial revisions to examples, data visualizations and in-chapter features include results from the 2024 national elections.
  • New coverage includes the impeachment of President Trump, immigration reform, gun control and the unprecedented role of a defeated presidential candidate as party leader.

Features

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  • A Global Politics feature in every chapter puts political issues in their international context, including press freedoms around the world and impeachment of national leaders.
  • Discussions of the tensions between pluralist and majoritarian visions of democracy like rising partisanship in Congress and the ways public opinion impacts public policy is included.
  • The "Freedom, Order or Equality" theme shows up in a feature in each chapter, highlighting the tensions among these values and their connection to chapter concepts.
  • The text's signature Challenge Accepted feature asks students to consider a current topic related to the concepts being discussed and ends with a critical thinking question.
  • The ever-changing media landscape is reflected through discussions of podcasts, TikTok, misinformation and media literacy as well as real-world examples.

Table of Contents

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Part I: DILEMMAS OF DEMOCRACY.
1. Freedom, Order, or Equality?
2. Majoritarian or Pluralist Democracy?
Part II: FOUNDATIONS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT.
3. The Constitution.
4. Federalism.
Part III: LINKING PEOPLE WITH GOVERNMENT.
5. Public Opinion and Political Socialization.
6. The Media.
7. Participation and Voting.
8. Political Parties.
9. Nominations, Elections, and Campaigns.
10. Interest Groups.
Part IV: INSTITUTIONS OF GOVERNMENT.
11. Congress.
12. The Presidency.
13. The Bureaucracy.
14. The Courts.
Part V: CIVIL LIBERTIES AND CIVIL RIGHTS.
15. Order and Civil Liberties.
16. Equality and Civil Rights.
Part VI: MAKING PUBLIC POLICY.
17. Economic Policy.
18. Policymaking and Domestic Policy.

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  • ISBN-10: 8214146127
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Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

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ISBN: 9798214146126
MindTap for Janda/Berry/Goldman/Schildkraut/Manna's THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOCRACY: AMERICAN GOVERNMENT IN GLOBAL POLITICS, 16th Edition, is the digital learning solution that powers students from memorization to mastery. It gives you complete control of your course to provide engaging content, challenge every individual and build their confidence. Empower students to accelerate their progress with MindTap. MindTap: Powered by You. MindTap helps your students see why these topics matter to them and develop their critical thinking and application skills. Why Does This Topic Matter to Me? activities at the beginning of each chapter helps students see the connection between the upcoming chapter and their daily lives while the Case Studies and Reconsider the Issue activities require students to think critically about analyzing issues, data and more to answer a series of auto-graded questions. MindTap gives you complete ownership of your content and learning experience. Customize the interactive syllabi, emphasize the most important topics and add your own material or notes in the eBook.