California Politics: A Primer

by Renée B. Van Vechten

Overview

From the structure of the state's government to its local representatives, policies, and voter participation, the revised Seventh Edition of California Politics offers a concise overview of how California's political system works. Renée B. Van Vechten presses readers to think about how history, political culture, rules, and institutions conspire to shape politics today - and tomorrow.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071875445
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	05/24/2023
Edition description:	Seventh Edition
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	7.38(w) x 9.12(h) x (d)

About the Author

Renée B. Van Vechten holds the Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair in American Politics and Policy at the University of Redlands where she is a professor of political science and chair of the public policy undergraduate program. She earned a BA in political science from the University of San Diego and a Ph D from the University of California, Irvine. Van Vechten’s political science research examines legislative processes and behavior, including the impacts of political reforms such as term limits. In addition to teaching about California politics, her courses concentrate on American institutions such as Congress, as well as the politics of food, the environment, and political reform. Her expertise on state-level politics and policy is evident in her textbook, California Politics: A Primer, and her scholarship on pedagogy and instructional practices has extended to curricular planning, research methods, online discussion forums, simulations, and internships. She was the lead editor of and contributor to the open-source book and resource collection, Political Science Internships: Towards Best Practices (APSA 2021: https://apsanet.org/internshipbook). Van Vechten has served as an executive board member for Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honors society, and on the American Political Science Association (APSA) Council and Executive Board as chair of the Teaching and Learning Policy Committee and as chair of the APSA Political Science Education organized member section. She has been a track moderator for the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference (TLC) several times, and was a founding co-chair for the first TLC at APSA in 2018. Service to APSA includes membership on awards committees, working groups, and two Presidential Task Forces (on Technology, 2015–2016; on New Partnerships, 2017–2020) that helped establish APSA’s online teaching library, EDUCATE. Van Vechten is also active in the Western Political Science Association, having several times co-chaired a conference-within-a-conference on teaching and learning. She has received several teaching awards, including the Rowman and Littlefield Award for Innovative Teaching in Political Science (via APSA) in 2008, APSA’s only national teaching award at that time. A resident of San Diego County, she is frequently consulted by local media for commentary about state and national politics.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Critical Junctures
Chapter 3: Direct Democracy
Chapter 4: The State Legislature
Chapter 5: The Executive Branch
Chapter 6: The Court System
Chapter 7: Other Governments
Chapter 8: The California Budget Process
Chapter 9: Political Parties, Elections, and Campaigns
Chapter 10: Political Engagement
Chapter 11: Concluding Thoughts

Editorial Reviews

I feel the text covers the basics of state government in California and provides a solid foundation from which to expand an examination of the system of government in the golden state...One of the better texts covering the California government.

Steven Marin

This text does an excellent job providing a broad-based understanding of the California governance. It is easy to read and the publisher provides resources to assist in teaching.

Dr. Roger Lang

A thorough yet concise overview of California institutions, politics, and initiative process, grounded in an overview of California’s political culture.”

Ronnee Schreiber

California Politics provides students with the nuts and bolts necessary to understand what goes on in Sacramento, while also giving them the tools they need to delve deeper into the process if they desire.”

David Fisk

Van Vechten renders the material approachable. Her writing style has a narrative flow, but the language is not simplistic. The clear visuals assist students in honing their abilities to comprehend non-narrative information.”

Maria Sampanis

"Van Vechten's book is the best introduction to California politics available. Covering topics from direct democracy to citizen engagement, her analysis of California politics is of such high quality that I often use this book as my main political science textbook, even in American politics courses. "

David Selby

The strengths of Van Vechten’s text are its brevity and its preference for straight talking. Students appreciate the absence of hyperbole and exaggeration that tends to accompany a lot of the discussion of California politics. I am relieved to have found the book, especially since it is so much more affordable and readable than others. ”

Sarah John

The Van Vechten text is balanced, covers the state’s history well for a short book, has a healthy skepticism about California’s direct democracy system, is brief, and is good value for the price. A number of students commented that the book was easy to read, understandable, and they liked that it didn’t talk down to them. Very few Californians understand the consequences of the structural nature of many of California’s problems and Van Vechten does a good job of pointing these out.”

Diana Dwyre