Who Governs?

Robert A. Dahl is Sterling Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Yale University and past president of the American Political Science Association. He is the author of numerous books, including Polyarchy and Democracy and Its Critics, available in paperback from Yale University Press.

Winner of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for 1962 and widely acclaimed as a major reinterpretation of the location of political power in American communitiesWinner of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award for 1962 and widely acclaimed as a major reinterpretation of the location of political power in American communities. "Dahl has illuminated a central question in political science, the problem of how men can govern themselves in complex societies. . . . Who Governs? will become a classic."—from the citation of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award"Dahl is never dogmatic, and never imagines that the world stands still to accommodate either the democratic ideal or his own pluralistic theory of city politics. . . . Who Governs? is Dahl’s liveliest and most remarkable book."—Douglas W. Rae, from the Foreword"A major breakthrough in American political science, and a work destined, deservedly, to influence profoundly all future investigation of our politics… masterful, imaginative, and courageous.  I recommend it unreservedly to the attention of all students of American politics."—Willmoore Kendall"Magnificently conceived and beautifully executed . . . presenting a rich body of data succinctly and persuasively . . . 'They' are going to have to rewrite the texts on municipal government."—Wallace Sayre"Magnificently conceived and beautifully executed . . . presenting a rich body of data succinctly and persuasively . . . 'They' are going to have to rewrite the texts on municipal government."—Wallace Sayre