A prominent Louisiana political scientist makes plain the reasons for the state's political peculiarities. In the popular American imagination, Louisiana may come closer than any other state to offering the experience of a foreign culture--a Spanish-moss-draped netherland filled with friendly but vaguely threatening Cajuns, seething creature-infested swamps, the whirling masked chaos of Mardi Gras, seductive N'awlins cadences, and most vividly, even pruriently, the train wreck of Louisiana politics: cash-under-the-table shenanigans, fat and sassy environmental polluters, devil-and-the-deep-bluesea electoral choices like the 1991 gubernatorial runoff between the Klan-tainted David Duke and the criminally indicated Edwin Edwards. Wayne Parent sees all of this clearly with both an entertainer's eye and a social scientist's rigor. He subjects Louisiana's politics to rational and empirical analysis, seeking and finding coherent reasons for the state's bizarre spectacle without resorting to vague hand-waving about "exoticism," while at the same time bringing to life the juicy stories that illustrate his points. Parent's main theme is that Louisiana's ethnic mix, natural resources, and geography define a culture that in turn produces its unique political theater. He gives special attention to immigration patterns, Louisiana's abundant supply of oil and gas, and the variations in political temperaments in the state. Most important, he delivers thorough and concise explanations of Louisiana's unusual legal system, odd election rules, overwrought constitutional history, convoluted voting patterns, and unmatched record of political corruption--while at the same time noting signs of change in theoffing. Rich in historical facts, gripping tales, and comparative data, Wayne Parent's primer on Louisiana politics will satisfy anyone agog at the state's saga.

These essays offer a current and comprehensive analysis of black politics and its impact at the national level on the American political system. Whether analyzing the Supreme Court, interest groups, public policy, the Congressional Black Caucus, or political attitudes and behavior, these essays demonstrate that African Americans participate in national politics in a substantial way, and that they have done so in a manner consistent with pluralist theory. However, they have been less active in executive policy making, and this trend is also explored and analyzed.

The modern turn in political philosophy established the ontological primacy of the ego, reducing the community to a mere assemblage of individuals, and led to the repudiation of natural duties in favor of inherent individual rights. The modern project culminated in the work of Friedrich Nietzsche, whose emphasis on radical individuation left human beings both liberated and exiled. Individuals were free to create (and to recreate) themselves anew, but they were simultaneously uprooted from any larger community. Indeed, the very possibility of shared meaning, let alone shared political life, was called into question. This volume consists of essays addressing the efforts of philosophers, artists, caretakers, and-perhaps most importantly-teachers to reestablish a foundation for political life in postmodernity. The origins of these efforts are diverse, and their modes are varied. Individuals seek communion with the divine, either with or through others; they pursue friendship among strangers; and they search for meaningful relationships in both the classroom and the public square. Reflecting the various means by which individuals seek communion with others and with the transcendent, divine Other, the essays contained in this volume explore the modes through which individuals forge relationships with others in an age of isolation.