Party Reform and the Public Interest
Everett Carll Ladd examines the calls sounded over the past century for reform of the United States system of parties and elections. He concludes that -- putting aside the obvious practical difficulties in changing the system substantially -- the intellectual case for reform simply has not been made persuasively.

The Supreme Court and the New Politics of Judicial Power
Mark Silverstein and Benjamin Ginsberg analyze changes in judicial policy over the past three decades. They argue that during this period the United States Supreme Court dramatically increased both its capacity to influence national policy and its independence from presidential control.

Expanding Social Benefits: The Role of Social Security
G. John Ikenberry and Theda Skocpol trace the origins and trajectory of American provision for social problems. They explore the manner in which policy ideas and public social benefits have changed over time and explain why "social security" has been the main carrier of expansion in coverage and benefits.

Soviet Policy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: Actions, Patterns, and Interpretations
Richard Herrmann discusses the difficulties of interpreting Soviet policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict. He looks at past behavior and compares Soviet approaches with those of the United States and several Arab countries. After reviewing American policy of trying to exclude the Soviet Union from settlement talks, Herrmann argues that American policy should more actively test Soviet intentions.

Restructuring Canada's Defense Contribution: A Possible Key to Western Security
STEVEN CANBY and Jean Edward Smith focus on Canada's slim military contribution to NATO. They suggest that an enhanced Canadian presence in the Central Front in Germany may provide the keystone for a credible conventional defense strategy in Europe.

Entering the Atomic Power Race: Science, Industry, and Government
Rebecca S. Lowen traces the development of the nuclear power industry in the 1950s, arguing that neither a shortage of conventional fuel nor the enthusiasm of scientists for this new source of power explains the industry's emergence. She shows that international political concerns of Congress and the President spurred the building of the first nuclear power plants in the U.S.

SDI and the Dynamics of Strategic Uncertainty
Robert H. Gromoll considers the likely impact of enhanced strategic uncertainty under ballistic missile defenses contemplated in SDI. He contends such defenses would multiply conceivable U.S.-Soviet strategic relationships, creating some possibilities for greater stability, but even more possibilities for instability.

Nuclear Planning in NATO: Pitfalls of First Use, Daniel Charles
Reviewed by George H. Quester

Beggar Your Neighbours: Apartheid Power in Southern Africa, Joseph Hanlon
Reviewed by Crawford Young

Fidel: A Critical Portrait, Tad Szulc
Reviewed by Scott C. Monje

Human Rights in Contemporary China, Louis Henkin, ANDREW J. NATHAN and R. Randle Edwards
Reviewed by Lucian W. Pye

Chinese Democracy, ANDREW J. NATHAN
Reviewed by Joel Glassman

The Great Chinese Revolution 1800-1985, John King Fairbank
Reviewed by Joyce K. Kallgren

The SDI Challenge to Europe, Ivo H. Daalder
Reviewed by Jerome Slater

The Soviet Union in the Third World: Threat to World Peace?, Joseph G. Whelan and Michael J. Dixon
Reviewed by Raymond L. Garthoff

Constitutional Reform and Effective Government, James L. Sundquist
Reviewed by Paul S. Sarbanes

Regulating Government: The Positive-Sum Solution, Dwight R. Lee and Richard B. McKenzie
Reviewed by Eugene Bardach

Child Care: Facing the Hard Choices, Alfred J. Kahn and Sheila B. Kamerman
Reviewed by Frank J. Macchiarola

Why we Lost the ERA, Jane J. Mansbridge
Reviewed by Roberta S. Sigel

Public Opinion & Collective Action: The Boston School Desegregation Conflict, D. Garth Taylor
Reviewed by John T. Tierney

American Choices: Social Dilemmas and Public Policy since 1960, Gary W. Reichard, Robert H. Bremmer and Richard J. Hopkins
Reviewed by Hugh Heclo

Redefining the Supreme Court's Role: A Theory of Managing the Federal Judicial Process, Samuel Estreicher and John Sexton
Reviewed by John R. Schmidhauser

The Art of Political Manipulation, William H. Riker
Reviewed by David L. Garth

The Politics of Policy Making in Defense and Foreign Affairs: Conceptual Models and Bureaucratic Politics, Roger Hilsman
Reviewed by Graham T. Allison

A Melting Pot or a Nation of Minorities, W. Lawson Taitte
Reviewed by Moses Rischin

American Public Opinion toward Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Eytan Gilboa
Reviewed by Leonard W. Doob

Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain, Richard A. Epstein
Reviewed by David Adamany

Braking the Special Interests: Trucking Deregulation and the Politics of Policy Reform, Dorothy Robyn
Reviewed by Susan Rose-Ackerman

Managing the Presidency: Carter, Reagan and the Search for Executive Harmony, Colin Campbell
Reviewed by Richard M. Pious

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Hero and Politician, Robert F. Burk
Reviewed by Richard H. Immerman

American Women and Political Participation: The Impacts of Work, Generation, and Feminism, Karen Beckwith
Reviewed by Virginia Sapiro

The Flacks of Washington: Government Information and the Public Agenda, David Morgan
Reviewed by Dan Nimmo

Institutional Disability: The Saga of Transportation Policy for the Disabled, Robert A. Katzmann
Reviewed by Ronald F. Kirby

The China Connection: U.S. Policy and the People's Republic of China, A. James Gregor
Reviewed by Warren I. Cohen

Fire Across the Sea: The Vietnam War and Japan, 1965-1975, Thomas R. H. Havens
Reviewed by Nathaniel B. Thayer

East Asian Security and the Trilateral Countries: A Report to the Trilateral Commission, Masashi Nishihara
Reviewed by Douglas Stuart

The Prevention of Genocide, Leo Kuper
Reviewed by William Korey

Social Movements and Political Power: Emerging Forms of Radicalism in the West, Carl Boggs
Reviewed by Mark Kesselman

Sentinels of Empire: The United States and Latin American Militarism, Jan Knippers Black
Reviewed by Dain Borges