2016 US presidential election reading list

Following the recent US Presidential election, we have curated a reading list with resources that provide insight into the politics behind the 2016 election, and look at the key topics that stimulated some of the major debates from the election season. We have selected books and other resources that detail American politics in the context of this election and investigate the issues that influenced the campaigns.

Elections and Electoral Politics

We explore content that relates to American political parties, voting history in the US, and election trends:

• American Political Parties and Elections, by L. Sandy Maisel
• Toward Democracy, by James T. Kloppenberg
• Cosmic Constitutional Theory, by J. Harvie Wilkinson, III
• Ballot Battles, by Edward Foley
• The Inevitable Party, by Seth Masket
• “The Decision to Vote or Abstain”, by Elisabeth Gidengil
• “Election Forecasting”, by Mary Stegmaier and Helmut Norpoth
• “How to Increase Participation”, from The Politics of Voter Suppression by Tova Andrea Wang

Labor, Activism and Organizing

These titles grapple with topics including issues with democracy, activist groups, and organized political movements:

• Democracy against Itself, by Daniel DiSalvo
• No Shortcuts, by Jane F. McAlevey
• How Organizations Develop Activists, by Hahrie Han
• Rich People’s Movements, by Isaac Martin
• Populism’s Power, by Laura Grattan

News Media and Social Media

Digital media has a powerful influence on elections and campaigns. Investigate the relationship between campaigns and the internet, how civic involvement has changed, and the effect media have on voting and identity:

• Analytic Activism, by David Karpf
• Prototype Politics, by Daniel Kriess
• Using Technology, Building Democracy, by Jessica Baldwin-Philippi
• The Civic Organization and the Digital Citizen, by Chris Wells
• Expect Us, by Jessica Beyer
• Presidential Campaigning in the Internet Age, by Jennifer Stromer-Galley
• Tweeting to Power, by Jason Gainous and Kevin M. Wagner
• The Hybrid Media System, by Andrew Chadwick
• Affective Publics, by Zizi Papacharissi
• The Outrage Industry, by Jeffrey M. Berry and Sarah Sobieraj
• Disruptive Power, by Taylor Owen
• The News Media, by C.W. Anderson, Leonard Downie, and Michael Schudson

American Politics

Here are titles dedicated to American politics specifically, from American political parties to the recent transformations in American democracy:

• Four Crises of American Democracy, by Alasdair Roberts
• “Party Movements”, by Mildred A. Schwartz
• Building a Business of Politics, by Adam Sheingate
• The Business of America is Lobbying, by Lee Drutman
• The Reactionary Mind, by Corey Robin

Voter Behavior and Public Opinion

Are voters generally uninformed? What factors influence our decisions when voting? These titles deal with questions relating to voting influences on the individual and questions where to go from here:

• Uninformed, by Arthur Lupia
• The Fat Tail, by Ian Bremmer
• Honor Bound, by Ryan P. Brown
• Running from Office, by Jennifer L. Lawless and Richard L. Fox
• We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For, by Peter Levine
• “The Ideological Pull of Siblings” from Families’ Values by R. Urbatsch

Voter Demographics

What are voting trends and how are they formed? Below are titles that investigate group identities throughout America and how voting is impacted:

• The New Minority, by Justin Gest
• Dog Whistle Politics, by Ian Haney López
• Social Democratic America, by Lane Kenworthy
• Asymmetric Politics, by Matt Grossmann and David A. Hopkins
• Altered States, by Thomas M. Holbrook
• Boom, Bust, Exodus, by Chad Broughton
• Coming Up Short, by Jennifer M. Silva

Featured image credit: President Obama, by The White House. CC US Government Works via Flickr.