Murray Edelman holds a unique and distinguished position in American political science. For decades one of the few serious scholars to question dominant rational-choice interpretations of politics, Edelman looked instead to the powerful influence of signs, spectacles, and symbols of culture on political behavior and political institutions. His first, now classic, book, "The Symbolic Uses of Politics," created paths of inquiry in political science, communication studies, and sociology that are still being explored today.
In this book, Edelman continues his quest to understand the influence...