The two-volume Oxford Companion to American Politics is the first reference work to provide detailed, in-depth coverage of all aspects of American Politics. Entries written by top scholars of American Politics surpass all previous reference material on the subject and provide scholars and students with ready access to sophisticated, comprehensive material. Long entries form the core of the book, covering such topics as climate change, terrorism, welfare policies, nuclear proliferation, voting behavior, and think tanks. Each of these entries include high-level scrutiny of the literature, history, and future of the topic. The Companion also includes a number of entries from the 2001 Oxford Companion to Politics of the World, revised as necessary to bring coverage of such topics as foreign aid, and nuclear weapons up to date.In the current context of political gridlock, international tension, economic under performance, and social division, scholars of American politics need to focus on more than the inner workings of their own political institutions-they must approach their work with as wide an understanding as possible. It is vital that they quickly and easily acquire knowledge of our contemporary international, as well as domestic, economic, social, and cultural conditions. The Oxford Companion to American Politics has been designed precisely to meet the full range of those needs.