Second in Command: Reevaluating the Role of Vice Presidents and Running Mates in Modern American Politics - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0472058096 ISBN 13: 9780472058099

Verlag: The University of Michigan Press, 2026

Inhaltsangabe

In recent years, the office of the vice president has become a focal point of presidential politics and governance. From the emergence of the modern vice presidency under Walter Mondale to Mike Pence’s and Kamala Harris’s dramatic influence on the outcome of the 2020 election, Second in Command explores how vice presidents and vice-presidential candidates have shaped the direction of the country and changed American politics. The frenzy of speculation surrounding the “veepstakes” every four years and extensive media coverage of the vice-presidential debate may seem odd, given the vice presidency’s limited constitutional powers and dismal public reputation. 

Dispelling the myth that the vice presidency is a powerless or merely ceremonial role, Second in Command draws on the multidisciplinary expertise of more than a dozen leading vice-presidential scholars to reveal the complex, consequential, and often misunderstood nature of the office. With accessible language and vivid examples, it traces the transformation of vice-presidential power over the past half-century, the evolving electoral significance of vice-presidential running mates, and highlights the need for a deeper public understanding of these pivotal figures. Chapters employ a range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including elite interviews, archival research, case studies, and advanced statistical modeling to cover topics such as gender and media effects in running mate selection and the representation of vice presidents in popular culture. This book offers a fresh, engaging, and essential perspective on a vital institution at the heart of American democracy.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Karine Prémont is Professor in the School of Applied Politics at the Université de Sherbrooke and Deputy Director of the Center for the United States Studies at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Christopher J. Devine is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Dayton.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: The University of Michigan Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2026
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0472058096
• ISBN 13: 9780472058099
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 352
• Herausgeber: Prmont Karine, Devine Christopher J.
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar