Books by John M. Allswang

Furthermore, while political machines are often regarded as nondemocratic and corrupt, Allswang discusses the strengths of the urban machine approach-chief among those being its ability to organize voters around specific issues.

Focusing clearly upon political change and the role of ethnicity, the work advances the hypothesis that Chicago's ethnic groups responded as ethnic groups, rather than on socio-economic or other bases, when they shifted their party allegiances in the late twenties.

This book provides a detailed analytic history of direct legislation-the initiative and referendum-in California from the late 19th century to the present day. It studies this important political device in terms of voter interest and behavior, its role in public issues, how it has affected the state's politics and government, and its influence on the politics of other states.