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In recent years, American political development has claimed the attention of a growing band of political scientists, and scholars have begun to speak of 'APD' as a subfield within the discipline. This book provides a justification for studying politics historically, not only for what it reveals about the roots of political affairs at the present time but what it teaches about politics as an ongoing activity in time, anytime. Placing the character of political institutions at the center of analysis, Orren and Skowronek survey past and current scholarship and attempt to outline a course of study for the future.

"A brilliant, disquieting, and demandingly dense analysis of current and future American Political Development (APD) research. An instant classic among political scientists, historians, and economists. Essential." E.C. Dreyer, emeritus, University of Tulsa, CHOICE, "...the book is a clearly written and honest presentation of 'American Political Development,' just as useful and eccessible to non-APD scholars as it is to members of the movement. Its clarity and honesty help us to understand this new subfield, and facilitate an analysis of its strengths and weaknesses." The Review of Politics, Ronald J. Pestritto, "Orren and Skowronek pitch a structural analysis of politics that is contingent, historical, supple and important." - Daniel T. Rodgers, Princeton University

Karen Orren is Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her areas of expertise are American Political History and Institutional Development. Stephen Skowronek is the Pelatiah Perit Professor of Political and Social Science at Yale University. He is the author of Building A New American State, The Expansion of National Administrative Capacities, 1877-1920, and The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton. He is also, with Karen Orren, the managing Editor of Studies In American Political Development. He has been a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and has held the French-American Foundation Chair in American Civilization at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociale in Paris.