In this now-classic work, one of the most celebrated political scientists of the twentieth century offers a powerful interpretation of the location of political power in American urban communities. For this new edition, Robert A. Dahl has written a new Preface in which he reflects on Who Governs? more than four decades after its publication. And in a new Foreword, Douglas W. Rae offers an assessment of Dahl’s achievement in this, Dahl’s greatest and most influential book.
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“Dahl is never dogmatic, and never imagines that the world stands still to accommodate either the democratic ideal or his own pluralistic theory of city politics. . . .Who Governs? is Dahl’s liveliest and most remarkable book.â€â€•Douglas W. Rae, from the Foreword
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From reviews of the first edition:
“A book that no one interested in politics can afford to ignore.â€â€•Lewis A. Coser, Commentary
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“Anyone seriously concerned with current systematic political theory or with urban politics should read Who Governs?â€â€•Hugh Douglas Price, Political Science Quarterly
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“A sophisticated and undogmatic treatise on democratic politics.â€â€•Heinz Eulau, American Political Science Review
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“Dahl has illuminated a central question in political science, the problem of how men can govern themselves in complex societies. . . . Who Governs? will become a classic.â€â€•from the citation of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award
