Dynamics of the Party System

Dynamics of the Party System PDF Author: James L. Sundquist
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815723189
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 484

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since the original edition of Dynamics of the Party System was published in 1973, American politics have continued on a tumultuous course. In the vacuum left by the decline of the Democratic and Republican parties, single-interest groups have risen and flourished. Protest movements on the left and the New Right at the opposite pole have challenged and divided the major parties, and the Reagan Revolution--in reversing a fifty-year trend toward governmental expansion--may turn out to have revolutionized the party system too. In this edition, as in the first, current political trends and events are placed in a historical and theoretical context. Focusing upon three major realignments of the past--those of the 1850s, the 1890s, and the 1930s--Sundquist traces the processes by which basic transformations of the country's two-party system occur. From the historical case studies, he fashions a theory as to the why and how of party realignment, then applies it to current and recent developments, through the first two years of the Reagan presidency and the midterm election of 1982. The theoretical sections of the first edition are refined in this one, the historical sections are revised to take account of recent scholarship, and the chapters dealing with the postwar period are almost wholly rewritten. The conclusion of the original work is, in general, confirmed: the existing party system is likely to be strengthened as public attention is again riveted on domestic economic issues, and the headlong trend of recent decades toward political independence and party disintegration reversed, at least for a time.

Dynamics of the Party System

Dynamics of the Party System PDF Author: James L. Sundquist
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815723189
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 484

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since the original edition of Dynamics of the Party System was published in 1973, American politics have continued on a tumultuous course. In the vacuum left by the decline of the Democratic and Republican parties, single-interest groups have risen and flourished. Protest movements on the left and the New Right at the opposite pole have challenged and divided the major parties, and the Reagan Revolution--in reversing a fifty-year trend toward governmental expansion--may turn out to have revolutionized the party system too. In this edition, as in the first, current political trends and events are placed in a historical and theoretical context. Focusing upon three major realignments of the past--those of the 1850s, the 1890s, and the 1930s--Sundquist traces the processes by which basic transformations of the country's two-party system occur. From the historical case studies, he fashions a theory as to the why and how of party realignment, then applies it to current and recent developments, through the first two years of the Reagan presidency and the midterm election of 1982. The theoretical sections of the first edition are refined in this one, the historical sections are revised to take account of recent scholarship, and the chapters dealing with the postwar period are almost wholly rewritten. The conclusion of the original work is, in general, confirmed: the existing party system is likely to be strengthened as public attention is again riveted on domestic economic issues, and the headlong trend of recent decades toward political independence and party disintegration reversed, at least for a time.

Breaking the Two-party Doom Loop

Breaking the Two-party Doom Loop PDF Author: Lee Drutman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190913851
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Get Book Here

Book Description
American democracy is in deep crisis. But what do we do about it? That depends on how we understand the current threat.In Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop, Lee Drutman argues that we now have, for the first time in American history, a genuine two-party system, with two fully-sorted, truly national parties, divided over the character of the nation. And it's a disaster. It's a party system fundamentally at odds withour anti-majoritarian, compromise-oriented governing institutions. It threatens the very foundations of fairness and shared values on which our democracy depends.Deftly weaving together history, democratic theory, and cutting-edge political science research, Drutman tells the story of how American politics became so toxic and why the country is now trapped in a doom loop of escalating two-party warfare from which there is only one escape: increase the numberof parties through electoral reform. As he shows, American politics was once stable because the two parties held within them multiple factions, which made it possible to assemble flexible majorities and kept the climate of political combat from overheating. But as conservative Southern Democrats andliberal Northeastern Republicans disappeared, partisan conflict flattened and pulled apart. Once the parties became fully nationalized - a long-germinating process that culminated in 2010 - toxic partisanship took over completely. With the two parties divided over competing visions of nationalidentity, Democrats and Republicans no longer see each other as opponents, but as enemies. And the more the conflict escalates, the shakier our democracy feels.Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop makes a compelling case for large scale electoral reform - importantly, reform not requiring a constitutional amendment - that would give America more parties, making American democracy more representative, more responsive, and ultimately more stable.

Democracy Unbound

Democracy Unbound PDF Author: David B. Reynolds
Publisher: South End Press
ISBN: 9780896085633
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388

Get Book Here

Book Description
David Reynolds explains how grassroots activists are translating mass discontent into new people-driven parties in America. This is the first and only book to look beyond the superficial media coverage of Ross Perot to the real movement for fundamental change.

Beyond Donkeys and Elephants

Beyond Donkeys and Elephants PDF Author: Richard Davis
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700629289
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book Here

Book Description
Confronted with two historically unpopular presidential candidates, the American electorate in 2016 delivered a shock to the political system. Less noted, amid the drama of Donald Trump’s victory, was the substantial share of the vote won by minor parties and independent candidates—one of whom, Libertarian Gary Johnson, put in the best third-party performance since Ross Perot’s 1996 Reform Party bid. Even more surprising, at the state-level minor-party candidates made greater inroads, in some states combining to win over 10 percent of the vote. At a time of increasing dissatisfaction with a two-party system, this book provides a much-needed look at the current political party alternatives in the United States. In Beyond Donkeys and Elephants, the chapter authors survey the present political landscape but also delve into the history of third parties and consider their likely directions and prospects looking forward. The most comprehensive account ever written of contemporary minor political parties in the United States, Beyond Donkeys and Elephants covers parties at the national, regional, and state levels. It discusses the well-known alternatives—including the Green, Constitution, and Libertarian Parties—as well as niche state-level parties such as the Mountain Party in West Virginia, the Vermont Progressive Party, the Moderate Party of Rhode Island, and the United Utah Party. This book also places the current resurgence of minor parties in historical context, examining the larger political forces at play. With its case studies past and present, its insights into the formation and nature of minor parties, and its in-depth analysis of why and when such parties emerge, this book affords readers across the political spectrum a unique opportunity to understand and evaluate alternatives as the two-party system undergoes ever greater strains in the coming years.

American Government 3e

American Government 3e PDF Author: Glen Krutz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781738998470
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Black & white print. American Government 3e aligns with the topics and objectives of many government courses. Faculty involved in the project have endeavored to make government workings, issues, debates, and impacts meaningful and memorable to students while maintaining the conceptual coverage and rigor inherent in the subject. With this objective in mind, the content of this textbook has been developed and arranged to provide a logical progression from the fundamental principles of institutional design at the founding, to avenues of political participation, to thorough coverage of the political structures that constitute American government. The book builds upon what students have already learned and emphasizes connections between topics as well as between theory and applications. The goal of each section is to enable students not just to recognize concepts, but to work with them in ways that will be useful in later courses, future careers, and as engaged citizens. In order to help students understand the ways that government, society, and individuals interconnect, the revision includes more examples and details regarding the lived experiences of diverse groups and communities within the United States. The authors and reviewers sought to strike a balance between confronting the negative and harmful elements of American government, history, and current events, while demonstrating progress in overcoming them. In doing so, the approach seeks to provide instructors with ample opportunities to open discussions, extend and update concepts, and drive deeper engagement.

Why Regional Parties?

Why Regional Parties? PDF Author: Adam Ziegfeld
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316539008
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book Here

Book Description
Today, regional parties in India win nearly as many votes as national parties. In Why Regional Parties?, Professor Adam Ziegfeld questions the conventional wisdom that regional parties in India are electorally successful because they harness popular grievances and benefit from strong regional identities. He draws on a wide range of quantitative and qualitative evidence from over eighteen months of field research to demonstrate that regional parties are, in actuality, successful because they represent expedient options for office-seeking politicians. By focusing on clientelism, coalition government, and state-level factional alignments, Ziegfeld explains why politicians in India find membership in a regional party appealing. He therefore accounts for the remarkable success of India's regional parties and, in doing so, outlines how party systems take root and evolve in democracies where patronage, vote buying, and machine politics are common.

Rebuilding Leviathan

Rebuilding Leviathan PDF Author: Anna Grzymala-Busse
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139464922
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 5

Get Book Here

Book Description
Why do some governing parties limit their opportunistic behaviour and constrain the extraction of private gains from the state? This analysis of post-communist state reconstruction provides surprising answers to this fundamental question of party politics. Across the post-communist democracies, governing parties have opportunistically reconstructed the state - simultaneously exploiting it by extracting state resources and building new institutions that further such extraction. They enfeebled or delayed formal state institutions of monitoring and oversight, established new discretionary structures of state administration, and extracted enormous informal profits from the privatization of the communist economy. By examining how post-communist political parties rebuilt the state in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, Grzymala-Busse explains how even opportunistic political parties will limit their corrupt behaviour and abuse of state resources when faced with strong political competition.

Why Parties?

Why Parties? PDF Author: John H. Aldrich
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226012751
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since its first appearance fifteen years ago, Why Parties? has become essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the nature of American political parties. In the interim, the party system has undergone some radical changes. In this landmark book, now rewritten for the new millennium, John H. Aldrich goes beyond the clamor of arguments over whether American political parties are in resurgence or decline and undertakes a wholesale reexamination of the foundations of the American party system. Surveying critical episodes in the development of American political parties—from their formation in the 1790s to the Civil War—Aldrich shows how they serve to combat three fundamental problems of democracy: how to regulate the number of people seeking public office, how to mobilize voters, and how to achieve and maintain the majorities needed to accomplish goals once in office. Aldrich brings this innovative account up to the present by looking at the profound changes in the character of political parties since World War II, especially in light of ongoing contemporary transformations, including the rise of the Republican Party in the South, and what those changes accomplish, such as the Obama Health Care plan. Finally, Why Parties? A Second Look offers a fuller consideration of party systems in general, especially the two-party system in the United States, and explains why this system is necessary for effective democracy.

The Party Decides

The Party Decides PDF Author: Marty Cohen
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226112381
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 418

Get Book Here

Book Description
Throughout the contest for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, politicians and voters alike worried that the outcome might depend on the preferences of unelected superdelegates. This concern threw into relief the prevailing notion that—such unusually competitive cases notwithstanding—people, rather than parties, should and do control presidential nominations. But for the past several decades, The Party Decides shows, unelected insiders in both major parties have effectively selected candidates long before citizens reached the ballot box. Tracing the evolution of presidential nominations since the 1790s, this volume demonstrates how party insiders have sought since America’s founding to control nominations as a means of getting what they want from government. Contrary to the common view that the party reforms of the 1970s gave voters more power, the authors contend that the most consequential contests remain the candidates’ fights for prominent endorsements and the support of various interest groups and state party leaders. These invisible primaries produce frontrunners long before most voters start paying attention, profoundly influencing final election outcomes and investing parties with far more nominating power than is generally recognized.

Party Systems in Latin America

Party Systems in Latin America PDF Author: Scott Mainwaring
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107175526
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 525

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book generates a wealth of new empirical information about Latin American party systems and contributes richly to major theoretical debates about party systems and democracy.