What do we know about women, politics, and democracy in the United States? The last thirty years have witnessed a remarkable increase in women's participation in American politics and an explosion of research on female political actors, and the transformations effected by them, during the same period. Political Women and American Democracy provides a critical synthesis of scholarly research by leading experts in the field. The collected essays examine women as citizens, voters, participants, movement activists, partisans, candidates, and legislators. The authors provide frameworks for understanding and organizing existing scholarship; focus on theoretical, methodological, and empirical debates; and map out productive directions for future research. Political Women and American Democracy is an invaluable resource for scholars and students studying and conducting women and politics research.

'… a powerful statement, sure to engender creative dialogue.'

Source: Journal of Politics

'Thorough and insightful, this edited collection will benefit scholars at every level of expertise. It is a must-read for gender and politics scholars. However, it should be a must-read for every scholar whose work touches on US electoral and legislative politics. … If the potential of Political Women and American Democracy is ultimately recognised, its influence will ultimately go beyond the gender and politics subfield, to shape the work of the broader US politics field, inspiring scholars previously unaware of gender's centrality to their own work to think in new ways.'

Source: Politics and Gender