American Exceptionalism Revisited

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Axel Hadenius

   Pages 1-5

3. The United States of America: A Special Newcomer among States

   • Axel Hadenius

   Pages 7-15

4. A State Out of Sight—Which Became Increasingly Visible

   • Axel Hadenius

   Pages 17-44

5. Congress, President, and Parties: Shifting Roles

   • Axel Hadenius

   Pages 45-110

6. The Political Power of Courts: Judicial Supremacy, with Restrictions

   • Axel Hadenius

   Pages 111-151

7. Three (Less-Observed) Things about Elections

   • Axel Hadenius

   Pages 153-174

8. Direct-Democratic Elements

   • Axel Hadenius

   Pages 175-193

9. Special American Attributes

   • Axel Hadenius

   Pages 195-205

10. Back Matter

    Pages 207-237

    PDF

American Exceptionalism Revisited provides a broad overview of the various features that signify American politics. These include the upholding of an exceptional political stability, involving a particular balance between legislative, executive and judicial powers, and the permanence of a unique party system. Furthermore, special traits in the electoral realm?e.g., voter turnout, the inflow of money, and the application of primaries?are targets of analysis. Through comparisons with conditions applying abroad, particularly in Europe and Latin America, Axel Hadenius reveals a number of new insights on American political life, both today and over time

• development
• elections
• politics
• state
• us politics

"Axel Hadenius has long been known as one of the foremost scholars of democratization in the world. In American Exceptionalism Revisited, he brings his finely tuned global perspective to the American case, which is far too often viewed in isolation. This clearly written and thoughtful book is a must read for anyone interested in what makes America different." - Lucan A. Way, Professor of Political Science, University of Toronto.

"From the Federalist Papers to Tocqueville, Turner, Hartz, and most emphatically, Lipset, American exceptionalism has fascinated and perplexed commentators. In American Exceptionalism Revisited, Axel Hadenius takes stock of the debate and weighs the evidence of recent developments. Combining the perceptiveness of a foreign observer with the insight of an accomplished scholar of comparative politics, Hadenius argues that the remarkable stability of American constitutional government is attributable to the victory of 'balancing structures' president vs. congress, House vs. Senate, Supreme Court vs. elected branches over the intrinsic majoritarian tendencies of democracy; and to the personal choices of two presidents Washington and Jackson who rejected the 'authoritarian opportunity' at crucial historical junctures. A thought-provoking treatise on a classic question, American Exceptionalism Revisited merits a wide readership." - Stephen Weatherford, Professor of Political Science, University of California Santa Barbara, USA

"American Exceptionalism receives a fresh, subtle and penetrating analysis in this book. Axel Hadenius presents an innovative developmental and comparative perspective in his examination of the American political system's distinctiveness. He assesses the United States governmental structure in reference to Latin American nations with similar governmental institutions. European nations are compared with the United States regarding their similar public policies and socioeconomic development. Original insights abound here. This book is a must read for students of both American and comparative government." - Steven Schier, Dorothy H. and Edward C. Congdon Professor of Political Science, Carleton College, USA

Axel Hadenius is Professor of Political Science at Uppsala University, Sweden, and has been a Research Fellow and Visiting Professor at several American universities, such as University of California at Berkeley and University of Notre Dame. His most notable works include Democracy and Development (1992) and "Pathways from Authoritarianism" (with Jan Teorell) in the Journal of Democracy (2007).

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