Perspectives on the Decline of Partisanship in the United States

Perspectives on the Decline of Partisanship in the United States PDF Author: Christof Dieterle
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638311872
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1 (A), University of Kassel (Anglistics/American Studies), course: The vote of the american president, 24 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The question which role parties have in political life in the United States has concerned scholars for more than a century. Beginning with the introduction of the first statewide primaries in South Carolina in 1896, when the power of candidate nomination was taken away from party bosses and transferred to all party members or affiliates, there is a te ndency that parties lose influence not only in elections and other political processes, but also in everyday life in the United States. In this paper I will try to draw a rough outline of the discussion that has taken place in the last decades in order to give an overview on different theoretical approaches to the decline of party identification as well as on some of the consequences of this development. Naturally, this paper cannot deal with many other aspects of party identification, e.g. drawn from modernization theory or psychology.1 But, despite these limitations, the results presented in the concluding chapter provide some evidence for the thesis that U.S. Parties are in a state of decline and that this decline can have severe impacts on U.S. political and social life. This paper is structured as follows: In chapter 2, I will draw an outline of the different theoretical approaches to the concept of partisanship, ranging from socio-psychological attachment to Rational Choice theory and Multidimensional approaches. Chapter 3 is the longest part of this paper and deals with the reasons for the decline of party identification. After discussing some empirical data, I will turn to socio-economic factors leading to partisan dealignment before analysing the rise of issue and candidate voting. In chapter 4 I will present a brief outlook on some of the consequences of the decline of party identification on different levels of political and social life in the United States. The last chapter consists of a short summary of the findings of this paper and some concluding remarks.

Perspectives on the Decline of Partisanship in the United States

Perspectives on the Decline of Partisanship in the United States PDF Author: Christof Dieterle
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638311872
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1 (A), University of Kassel (Anglistics/American Studies), course: The vote of the american president, 24 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: The question which role parties have in political life in the United States has concerned scholars for more than a century. Beginning with the introduction of the first statewide primaries in South Carolina in 1896, when the power of candidate nomination was taken away from party bosses and transferred to all party members or affiliates, there is a te ndency that parties lose influence not only in elections and other political processes, but also in everyday life in the United States. In this paper I will try to draw a rough outline of the discussion that has taken place in the last decades in order to give an overview on different theoretical approaches to the decline of party identification as well as on some of the consequences of this development. Naturally, this paper cannot deal with many other aspects of party identification, e.g. drawn from modernization theory or psychology.1 But, despite these limitations, the results presented in the concluding chapter provide some evidence for the thesis that U.S. Parties are in a state of decline and that this decline can have severe impacts on U.S. political and social life. This paper is structured as follows: In chapter 2, I will draw an outline of the different theoretical approaches to the concept of partisanship, ranging from socio-psychological attachment to Rational Choice theory and Multidimensional approaches. Chapter 3 is the longest part of this paper and deals with the reasons for the decline of party identification. After discussing some empirical data, I will turn to socio-economic factors leading to partisan dealignment before analysing the rise of issue and candidate voting. In chapter 4 I will present a brief outlook on some of the consequences of the decline of party identification on different levels of political and social life in the United States. The last chapter consists of a short summary of the findings of this paper and some concluding remarks.

The Decline of American Political Parties, 1952-1996

The Decline of American Political Parties, 1952-1996 PDF Author: Martin P. Wattenberg
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674044968
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
The major theme of Chapter 12, new to this edition, is the missed opportunities for the parties in the 1996 elections. The year started with a highly visible confrontation over the budget that could have revitalized the party coalitions if the issues had been carried over to the election. However, the candidate-centered campaign of 1996 ultimately did little to resolve these issues or to reinvigorate partisanship in the electorate. In spite of the opportunities for getting new voters to the polls created by the Motor Voter Act, voter turnout in 1996 was the lowest since 1924. Turning out the vote is one of the most crucial functions of political parties, and their inability to mobalize more than half of the eligible electorate strongly indicates their future decline in importance to voters. Until citizens support the parties more by showing up to cast votes for their candidates, the decline of American political parties must be considered to be an ongoing phenomenon. --From the preface

The Increasingly United States

The Increasingly United States PDF Author: Daniel J. Hopkins
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022653040X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
In a campaign for state or local office these days, you’re as likely today to hear accusations that an opponent advanced Obamacare or supported Donald Trump as you are to hear about issues affecting the state or local community. This is because American political behavior has become substantially more nationalized. American voters are far more engaged with and knowledgeable about what’s happening in Washington, DC, than in similar messages whether they are in the South, the Northeast, or the Midwest. Gone are the days when all politics was local. With The Increasingly United States, Daniel J. Hopkins explores this trend and its implications for the American political system. The change is significant in part because it works against a key rationale of America’s federalist system, which was built on the assumption that citizens would be more strongly attached to their states and localities. It also has profound implications for how voters are represented. If voters are well informed about state politics, for example, the governor has an incentive to deliver what voters—or at least a pivotal segment of them—want. But if voters are likely to back the same party in gubernatorial as in presidential elections irrespective of the governor’s actions in office, governors may instead come to see their ambitions as tethered more closely to their status in the national party.

Why Parties?

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

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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 Politics Industry

The Politics Industry PDF Author: Katherine M. Gehl
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1633699242
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
Leading political innovation activist Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter bring fresh perspective, deep scholarship, and a real and actionable solution, Final Five Voting, to the grand challenge of our broken political and democratic system. Final Five Voting has already been adopted in Alaska and is being advanced in states across the country. The truth is, the American political system is working exactly how it is designed to work, and it isn't designed or optimized today to work for us—for ordinary citizens. Most people believe that our political system is a public institution with high-minded principles and impartial rules derived from the Constitution. In reality, it has become a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly—the Democrats and the Republicans—and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between the players. Tragically, it has therefore become incapable of delivering solutions to America's key economic and social challenges. In fact, there's virtually no connection between our political leaders solving problems and getting reelected. In The Politics Industry, business leader and path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis—and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework—to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today. Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change—a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. Their bracing assessment and practical recommendations cut through the endless debate about various proposed fixes, such as term limits and campaign finance reform. The result: true political innovation. The Politics Industry is an original and completely nonpartisan guide that will open your eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all. THE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATION The authors will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Institute for Political Innovation.

Parties and Elections in an Anti-party Age

Parties and Elections in an Anti-party Age PDF Author: Jeff Fishel
Publisher: Midland Books
ISBN: 9780253202093
Category : Elections
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description


Partisan Hearts and Minds

Partisan Hearts and Minds PDF Author: Donald P. Green
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300101560
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
A treatment of party identification, in which three political scientists argue that identification with political parties powerfully determines how citizens look at politics and cast their ballots. They build a case for the continuing theoretical and political significance of partisan identities.

The Rise and Decline of Nations

The Rise and Decline of Nations PDF Author: Mancur Olson
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300254067
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
"A compelling theory on the rationale for the changing fortunes of nations"--Publisher's website.

Backsliding

Backsliding PDF Author: Stephan Haggard
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108962874
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
Assaults on democracy are increasingly coming from the actions of duly elected governments, rather than coups. Backsliding examines the processes through which elected rulers weaken checks on executive power, curtail political and civil liberties, and undermine the integrity of the electoral system. Drawing on detailed case studies, including the United States and countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa, the book focuses on three, inter-related causal mechanisms: the pernicious effects of polarization; realignments of party systems that enable elected autocrats to gain legislative power; and the incremental nature of derogations, which divides oppositions and keeps them off balance. A concluding chapter looks at the international context of backsliding and the role of new technologies in these processes. An online appendix provides detailed accounts of backsliding in 16 countries, which can be found at www.cambridge.org/backsliding.

Partisan Journalism

Partisan Journalism PDF Author: Jim A. Kuypers
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442225947
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
In Partisan Journalism: A History of Media Bias in the United States,Jim A. Kuypers guides readers on a journey through American journalistic history, focusing on the warring notions of objectivity and partisanship. Kuypers shows how the American journalistic tradition grew from partisan roots and, with only a brief period of objectivity in between, has returned to those roots today. The book begins with an overview of newspapers during Colonial times, explaining how those papers openly operated in an expressly partisan way; he then moves through the Jacksonian era’s expansion of both the press and its partisan nature. After detailing the role of the press during the War Between the States, Kuypers demonstrates that it was the telegraph, not professional sentiment, that kicked off the movement toward objective news reporting. The conflict between partisanship and professionalization/objectivity continued through the muckraking years and through World War II, with newspapers in the 1950s often being objective in their reporting even as their editorials leaned to the right. This changed rapidly in the 1960s when newspaper editorials shifted from right to left, and progressive advocacy began to slowly erode objective content. Kuypers follows this trend through the early 1980s, and then turns his attention to demonstrating how new communication technologies have changed the very nature of news writing and delivery. In the final chapters covering the Bush and Obama presidencies, he traces the growth of the progressive and partisan nature of the mainstream news, while at the same time explores the rapid rise of alternative news sources, some partisan, some objective, that are challenging the dominance of the mainstream press. This book steps beyond a simple charge-counter-charge of political bias in the news in that it offers an argument that the press in America, except for a brief period, was essentially partisan from its inception and has returned with a vengeance to its original roots. The final argument presented in the book is that this new development may actually be healthy for American Democracy.