Alaska is the largest and one of the least populated of the fifty states - extremes that create a unique government. Examining Alaska's character and the forces shaping it, this book describes the workings of Alaska's government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as the state's relations with the federal government.

The ongoing pattern of federal control and Alaskans' sporadically virulent response to it are emblematic of the tensions between dependence on federal policies and the struggle for equal influence with the other forty-nine states. Geographic barriers, impeding transportation and communication, have left Alaska's regions, communities, and people separated from one another and from the outside. Yet, as "Alaska Politics and Government" demonstrates, the ability to deal with Alaska's future challenges is found in the vibrant and resilient character of its land and its people. Gerald A. McBeath is a professor of political science at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Thomas A. Morehouse is a professor of political science in the Institute of Social and Economic Research and the School of Public Affairs at the University of Alaska-Anchorage.