Certainly enough has happened in the two years between the twelfth edition and this, the thirteenth edition, to warrant modifications of an introductory political science text. U.S. politics has polarized more than ever, producing seemingly permanent budget crises. China’s authoritarian capitalism presents us with a new ideological challenge. Barack Obama’s reelection showed that a generation of Americans had developed new perspectives that confounded both Republicans and mainstream pollsters, who miscalled the election. The Arab Spring has allowed us to analyze revolutions in real time, including their unhappy aftermaths.