Divided government: does it matter? -- Trust in government: a crisis of democracy? -- Voting and non-voting: America's flawed democracy? -- Campaign finance reform: creating a level playing field -- Containing presidential power -- The Supreme Court: the politics of judicial activism -- Direct democracy: power to the people? -- Gun control: the right to bear arms -- Immigration: a nation state or a state of nations? -- Affirmative action: the continuing dilemma -- The politics of health care: anxiety amid plenty -- Capital punishment: the politics of retribution -- Welfare reform: providing for the old but not for the poor? -- Abortion: the right to life debate -- Manifest destiny and Realpolitik: realism versus idealism in foreign policy -- America as a global economic player: free trade versus protectionism.