Scholars, journalists, writers, and pundits have long regarded the South as the nation's most politically distinctive region. Its culture, history, and social and economic institutions have fostered unique political ideas that intrigue observers and have had profound political consequences for the nation's citizens, politicians, and policymakers. Writing Southern Politics is the most comprehensive review of the large body of post--World War II literature on southern politics. Since the publication of V.O. Key Jr.'s landmark work, Southern Politics in State and Nation (1949), scholars have produced an astounding number of books, monographs, professional journal articles, and research papers addressing elements of continuity and change in southern politics. The contributors to this book sort through the literature, identifying major themes, examining areas of scholarly disagreement, and making the key dimensions and contours of the region's politics understandable. Individually, the essays in this volume identify and clarify the key writing and research in selected subfields of southern politics, including religion, race, women, and political parties. Collectively, the essays identify and discuss the major components of and trends in southern politics over the past half century. The contributors, some of the foremost scholars in the field, have been heavily involved in researching and writing about southern politics during the past three decades and have observed the development of many of the research projects that form the foundation of southern political literature. In many instances, their own writings are included in the body of literature they discuss, bringing unique skills, research, and perspectives to their original essays. In addition to reviewing existing literature, Writing Southern Politics also includes suggestions for a future research agenda. Not all aspects of the region's dramatic fifty-year transformation have been fully explored, and the continuation of this development ensures new avenues to examine. The discussion of past research and writing is an invaluable tool for understanding the trends in southern politics over the past half century. By examining these trends and developing an agenda for future research, the authors provide a roadmap for identifying the changes that will likely shape the region over the next half century.

The scholars included in A Paler Shade of Red cover the 2008 presidential election with detailed, state-by-state analyses of how the presidential election, from the nomination struggle through the casting of votes in November, played out in the South. The book also includes examinations of important elections other than for president, and in addition to the single-state perspectives, there are three chapters that look at the region as a whole.
Contributors are Scott E. Buchanan, John A. Clark, Patrick R.
Cotter, Charles Bullock III, Rogert E. Hogan and Eunice H. McCarney,
David A. Breaux and Stephen D. Shaffer, Cole Blease Graham, Jay Barth, Janine A. Parry and Todd G. Shields, Jonathan Knuckey, Charles Prysby, Ronald Keith Gaddie, Brian Arbour and Mark McKenzie, and John J. McGlennon, all collected here to provide powerful insight into southern politics today.

This volume is the fifth in a series of analyses of elections in the South beginning with the 1984 general elections and continuing in 1988, 1992, and 1996. While the presidential election has been the focus, other important aspects of contemporary Southern electoral politics have also been examined, including congressional and state elections as well as the overall status of party development and competition in each Southern state.

Steed and Moreland continue the general organization plan of the previous publications in this volume, beginning with an introductory chapter on general issues and background, a chapter on presidential primaries, an examination of the particular issues of the 2000 presidential election, and a look at religion and Southern politics. Experts on the individual states then analyze the contests in each state, and the volume concludes with a summary of the lessons to be gained from the 2000 election cycle. An definitive work for all scholars, students, and researchers involved with contemporary Southern politics and presidential elections.

Southern power and influence in Congress has been on the wane in the latter part of the 20th Century, but as the essayists in this collection suggest, the region appears posed to reclaim its influence. While southern legislative politics is still a product of the region's unique history, political experience, racial legacy, and experience with one-partyism, Congress is one of the primary--if not the paramount--battlegrounds where southern politics are making an impact on the rest of the United States.

This collection of the most recent, critical, and thought- provoking literature, written by some of the leading scholars in southern and legislative politics across the country establishes a paradigm of thinking about southern politics vis-a-vis Congress which illustrates the major issues and impacts this connection is likely to have in future decades. For all scholars and researchers involved with contemporary southern politics, Congressional politics, and U.S. elections.

Moreland and Steed bring an overall analysis of presidential politics in the South together with a state-by-state analysis and updated data on the 1996 presidential elections in each southern state. The 1996 elections are placed within the context of recent party and electoral developments in the South, particularly as those relate to fundamental changes in the party system and the ascendancy of the Republican Party.

The South is a region undergoing significant partisan change, and that change has substantial implications for national politics. This volume analyzes the South's role in the 1996 presidential nomination process, issues as southerners saw them in 1996, and the role of third parties in the South. The volume also analyzes the results of the 1996 presidential election in each of the eleven states of the Old Confederacy. The 1996 elections are placed within the context of recent party and electoral developments in the South, particularly as those relate to fundamental changes in the party system and the ascendancy of the Republican Party.

This volume is unique in that there is no other analysis of the 1996 elections that has a southern regional focus. This is the fourth of a series of volumes on presidential elections in the South edited by Moreland and Steed, and together these studies constitute a valuable resource for those interested in Southern politics, presidential elections, and American political parties in general.

This is the third of a series of studies of presidential election politics in the South (the first two addressing the 1984 and 1988 elections, respectively). It examines the nomination process in the region, presents a state-by-state analysis of the 1992 presidential election results, and offers some general conclusions regarding contemporary developments in southern electoral and party politics. The volume presents election data of interest to students of presidential elections, the U.S. party system, and southern politics. As such, the work represents a significant contribution to the literature on partisan politics in the South.

The results of the 1988 elections affirmed the strength of the Republican party in the South on both the Presidential and statewide levels. This decisive victory and its ramifications throughout the region are the focus of this volume which seeks to illuminate the important events relevant to the 1988 elections in the South and identify the resulting trends in political activity which will characterize future developments. Special attention is given to the presidential election, the elements which determined its outcome and its effect upon the national strength of both parties, but the significance of lower level contests are also considered.

The text is arranged to provide both a Southwide analysis and a state-by-state review. Regional studies outline the political history relevant to the 1988 elections, and follow the concurrent nomination races. Each state chapter furnishes information which highlights the unique political complexion of the state being discussed and also shows how its character fits into the overall picture of a constantly changing Southern political profile. By presenting both an overview of the South as a political entity and a close-up study of the variety of its constituents, this volume proves a valuable addition to the literature which projects the future of Southern politics.

"Political Parties in the Southern StateS" traces the changes presently taking place in the South and identifies their broader consequences. The South is undergoing a political revolution--from issueless politics to one of the most issue-oriented sets of party coalitions and policy alternatives in the nation. These studies, based on a 1984 survey of state convention delegates, explores fundamental aspects of the changing system. Concerns include the role of elite studies in interpreting trends in mass politics; the increasing institutionalization of American politics, particularly as effected by 1970 nominating reforms; and the realignment of southern politics, its present condition, and the continuing consequences for political positions, concerns, and clientele group support. Editors conclude their volume with projections of future consequences for southern and national politics.

Researching political views and personal attributes of delegates to the 1984 national nominating convention, these editors choose six states as representative of the South. They then analyze characteristics that represent the standard subgroups of national interest. Emerging studies are organized under the following three sections: Party Reform and Party Systems introduces party reform, nationalization of American politics, and party change in the South. Party Reform and Southern Convention Delegates places emphasis on the roles of blacks, civil rights activists, women, and various age groups. Cultural Changes in Southern Party Coalitions covers topics such as the development of the two-party system, the impact of urbanization, and immigration. The volume concludes with a discussion of southern party coalitions.

This edited volume is divided into four sections. Part I summarizes much of the relevant twentieth century history of black political participation. Part II examines aspects of contemporary black political participation, such as black political behavior in the 1984 elections, a profile of black political activities, and various facets of black mass and elite political activity. Part III discusses the impact of Jesse Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign, on both southern blacks and whites. The concluding section examines on-going issues and/or barriers related to black political participation, such as the impact of single-member districts, and the changes in the party system due to black political activity. Due to its comprehensive coverage and its impressive list of contributors, Blacks in Southern Politics will interest academics and politicians involved in southern politics, civil rights, minority politics, and state and local government.