Essay Instructions: This book review has to be done just like this. No exceptions.
On a comparative politics issue.
Book review guidelines
1. Select a book that deals with any aspect of comparative politics, or comparison of any social or political issue.
2. Read the book very carefully, making notes as you read.
3. Write a 2-3 page review of the book consisting of the following:
a. a summary of the author's major themes, arguments, objectives and accomplishments. What are the central problems addressed in the book and how does the author approach them?
b. a critique of the book. Does the author succeed in accomplishing her/his objectives? Is a compelling argument presented? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the book? How does it add to our knowledge about rights problems? Is there another book or approach that you believe covers this topic more effectively?
4. Writing a book review should be a very informative, enjoyable and thought-provoking experience. Perhaps the key factor is selecting a book that you will enjoy reading. Even before you go to the library to search for a book, think about:
a) what subject interest me,
b) what would I like to learn more about,
c) what subjects am I receptive to new information about,
d) what style or orientation toward a subject do I prefer, or
e) how can I expand my knowledge about an issue or problem?
Sample book review
James G. Gimpel, Separate Destinations: Migration, Immigration and the Politics of Places. University of Michigan Press, 1999.
Gimpel has written a deceptively complex book. He examines recent migration and immigration trends and very methodically studies the various electoral consequences of these trends. He does this in seven states and in four counties or regions within each state, which allows him to investigate what happens politically in places that gain as well as lose population. And he studies the relationship of migration and politics at two points in time, using data from the 1980 and 1990 census. One big idea shines through: Demographic trends in the United States are reinforcing racial and socioeconomic segregation that has long been in place, and this continuing balkanization of the American population is having deleterious effects on our politics.
The bottom line is not highly original, but by pulling in how migration and immigration patterns feed the balkanization and by looking at participation levels of in-and outmigration, Gimple makes a genuine contribution to an underdeveloped literature. He argues that demographic lumpiness caused by migration patterns depresses turnout by discouraging political competition. Party regularity, "the extent to which party registration matches the balance of party voting," diminishes in areas of growth and change, and this is a by-product of the destabilizing effect of immigration on a community. He also argues that U. S. demographic patterns make racial and ethnic problems extraordinarily difficult to solve. Pervading the book is a pessimism about how increased balkanization undermines the practice of pluralist politics and encourages instead "the kind of special interest centeredness characteristic of so much contemporary American electioneering" (237) which "places racial and ethnic harmony even further beyond our reach"(279.
A second current running through the book has to do with how immigration and migration shape the political behavior of different groups--natives, immigrants and interstate migrants. This generally involves speculation rather than empirical demonstration, but it is key to Gimpel's argument. Underlying much of the analysis is a social psychological orientation that explains individual political behavior by way of group dynamics. For instance, Gimpel shows that immigration of nonwhites often leads to aggregate political patterns that suggest native hostility, and he interprets this as a response to group threat. He also show that immigrant groups who attain a critical mass tend to be more spatially isolated, either because of their own inclination or because of discrimination in the outside world. Gimple demonstrates, in some of the most compelling parts of this work, that the attitudes and behavior of both natives and immigrants (and in some cases, migrants) are shaped by their own-group orientation and by the interplay of groups within some politically relevant boundaries.
Also important in Separate Destinations is a discussion of the suburbanization of the country and what that means politically. The maps illustrating the growth of suburban sprawl are vivid and reinforce the impressions one gets driving around the outskirts of many metropolitan areas. This powerful demo-graphic trend is not without political consequence, and Gimpel demonstrates how the transient nature of suburbia has been a net minus with regard to politics. Those moving into places such as suburban Kansas City or Denver are less participatory and less connected to issues in their community or state, two things that go together. In addition to the issue of sprawl, which Gimpel generally does not address, the suburbanization of America has contributed greatly to the race- and class-based balkanization that concerns him so much.
Gimpel accomplishes a great deal, but the book is not without problems. One--that the author recognizes and frets over--stems from the extensive use of ecological data. The main unit of analysis is the county or Census tract, and Gimpel looks at the relationship between demographic balance in these unite and various dependent variables, such as turnout and party regularity. He is generally careful about not using the results to make inferences about individual behavior, he tries to replicate his findings about individual-level data, and he occasionally relies upon Gary King's ecological inference maximum likelihood technique to deal with the problem. Nonetheless, in many instances his findings are limited, and his main defense is that he has not written a book about individuals, such as Thad Brown's Migration and Politics(1988), but a book about places, about what happens politically in places that gain or lose population.
A second problem revolves around the manipulation of Gimpel's findings. The author wrings his hands over homogeneous, noncompetitive electoral districts and the shortcomings of single-interest representation (139), but although balkanization may be a necessary cause, it is certainly not a sufficient cause of problematic districting. In addition, he raises concerns about the possible skewing of policy outcomes as a result of balkanized politics, but these arguments are not developed at all. Finally, it is clear that increased participation is a good thing and depressed participation is not, but it is never very clear why the other main dependent variable--party regularity--is a matter of great concern. Gimpel argues that "party regularity matters because partisanship is a reflection of what divides, animates, and mobilizes the electorate." Where party regularity is upset, "judgments by representatives based on party cues are more error prone and electoral accountability can be undermined" (333). But this justification seems a stretch, which is unfortunate, given how much of the analysis is dedicated to it.
Despite its shortcomings, Separate Destinations is very good. It is comprehensive and well argued. It is fascinating and fun for "map-aholics" like myself. And it is a book of importance, one that helps explain how demographic and political change are related in this extraordinarily mobile society.
