Arizona has become a swing state in recent national elections, the source of controversial policies and policy proposals, and the home of well-known political personalities. In this new edition of Arizona Politics and Government, David R. Berman examines contemporary issues in a broad historical, comparative, and theoretical context to identify the mixture of ideas, activities, and events that have helped shape the essential character of the Arizona polity.

Beginning with an overview of continuities and changes in Arizona politics, Berman then discusses more specific topics such as immigration and water issues, cultural wars, political extremism, voting rights, and political reform, as well as intergovernmental relations, judicial elections, the place of rural Arizona and organized labor in state politics, and the state’s treatment of Natives, Mexican Americans, and African Americans. Above all Berman considers the values, beliefs, and behavioral patterns reflected in the state’s political life that have fueled Arizonans’ quests for autonomy, democracy, and development.