The Long War over Party Structure: Democratic Representation and Policy Responsiveness in American Politics...

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Byron E. Shafer (University of Wisconsin, Madison) Regina L. Wagner (University of Alabama)

The Long War over Party Structure

Democratic Representation and Policy Responsiveness in American Politics

Byron E. Shafer (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Regina L. Wagner (University of Alabama)

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English

Cambridge University Press
14 April 2022

Political parties

A long-standing debate in American politics is about the proper structure for political parties and the relative power that should be afforded to party professionals versus issue activists. In this book, Byron E. Shafer and Regina L. Wagner draw systematically on new data and indexes to evaluate the extent to which party structure changed from the 1950s on, and what the consequences have been for policy responsiveness, democratic representation, and party alignment across different issue domains. They argue that the reputed triumph of volunteer parties since the 1970s has been less comprehensive than the orthodox narrative assumes, but that the balance of power did shift, with unintended and sometimes perverse consequences. In the process of evaluating its central questions, this book gives an account of how partisan alignments evolved with newly empowered issue activists and major post-war developments from the civil rights movement to the culture wars.

By: Byron E. Shafer (University of Wisconsin Madison), Regina L. Wagner (University of Alabama)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 12mm
Weight: 316g
ISBN: 9781108718868
ISBN 10: 1108718868
Pages: 208
Publication Date: 14 April 2022
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Preface to a long war: party structure and democratic representation in American politics; 1. Party structure in theory and in practice: organized parties, volunteer parties, and their evolution; 2. Party structure and representational impact: public preferences on social welfare and civil rights; 3. Party structure and representational impact: cultural values, comprehensive ideologies, and national security; 4. A conclusion to the long war? Party structure and policy responsiveness; Afterword: a newer 'new politics'? Party structure in modern dress.

Byron E. Shafer is Hawkins Chair of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He was formerly Mellon Professor of American Politics at the University of Oxford from 1984 to 2001. He has written on numerous aspects of the structure of American politics, and he has attended all national party conventions for both parties from 1980 onward. Regina L. Wagner is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Her work focuses on political representation, gender and politics, legislative politics, and political parties. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 2018.

Reviews for The Long War over Party Structure: Democratic Representation and Policy Responsiveness in American Politics

'The book is clear, accessible, well organized, and well researched. Required reading for scholars interested in the history of US political parties.' C. Kinsella, Choice