State and Local Politics

by Steven A. Peterson, Thomas H. Rasmussen

This core text and review book on American state and local politics provides the background necessary for understanding how subnational governments work. The course is offered by 2/3 of the political science departments of U.S. colleges and is growing in popularity as increasing responsibilities are being thrust upon state and local level governments. The course is usually taken at the sophomore level and up, drawing non-majors as well as majors. Contemporary examples make this book timely but are introduced in such a way that they don't date the book. This concise, reasonably priced paperback should also appeal to general readers.

364 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1993

About the author

Steve Peterson was born in Kewanee, Illinois. He graduated from Kewanee High School and then received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from Bradley University (in Peoria, Illinois). Then, he went to the State University of New York at Buffalo for graduate study; he received his Ph. D. in Political Science in 1974. He began teaching at Alfred University in 1973 and taught there until he moved to Penn State Harrisburg in 1997.

Steve served as Director of the School of Public Affairs and Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg until July, 2015. He received his Ph. D. in Political Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1974. He taught for many years at Alfred University, before moving to Penn State Harrisburg in 1997. His areas of research interest include: American Politics, Public Opinion and Voting Behavior, Biology and Politics, and Public Policy (AIDS policy and education policy). He has authored or co-authored around twenty books, among which are: Darwinism, Dominance, and Democracy; The Failure of Democratic Nation Building: Ideology Meets Evolution, Political Behavior: Patterns in Everyday Life; The World of the Policy Analyst; Human Nature and Public Policy, and over 100 publications. He has served as President of the New York State Political Science Association and the Northeastern Political Science Association. He has served as an officer in the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences (APLS) and Research Committee # 12 (Biology and Politics) of the International Political Science Association.

He retired in summer, 2017 and is now Professor of Politics and Public Affairs Emeritus at Penn State Harrisburg.

Reviews

[Steven Peterson]

My colleague, Tom Rasmussen, and I had a lot of fun writing this introductory textbook on state and local politics. When it first came out, it did a nice job providing an up-to-date textbook. Now, it is out-of-date.