Polarized

Making Sense of a Divided America

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Political Parties, Democracy
Cover of the book Polarized by James E. Campbell, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James E. Campbell ISBN: 9781400889273
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: March 27, 2018
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: James E. Campbell
ISBN: 9781400889273
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: March 27, 2018
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

Many continue to believe that the United States is a nation of political moderates. In fact, it is a nation divided. It has been so for some time and has grown more so. This book provides a new and historically grounded perspective on the polarization of America, systematically documenting how and why it happened.

Polarized presents commonsense benchmarks to measure polarization, draws data from a wide range of historical sources, and carefully assesses the quality of the evidence. Through an innovative and insightful use of circumstantial evidence, it provides a much-needed reality check to claims about polarization. This rigorous yet engaging and accessible book examines how polarization displaced pluralism and how this affected American democracy and civil society.

Polarized challenges the widely held belief that polarization is the product of party and media elites, revealing instead how the American public in the 1960s set in motion the increase of polarization. American politics became highly polarized from the bottom up, not the top down, and this began much earlier than often thought. The Democrats and the Republicans are now ideologically distant from each other and about equally distant from the political center. Polarized also explains why the parties are polarized at all, despite their battle for the decisive median voter. No subject is more central to understanding American politics than political polarization, and no other book offers a more in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the subject than this one.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Many continue to believe that the United States is a nation of political moderates. In fact, it is a nation divided. It has been so for some time and has grown more so. This book provides a new and historically grounded perspective on the polarization of America, systematically documenting how and why it happened.

Polarized presents commonsense benchmarks to measure polarization, draws data from a wide range of historical sources, and carefully assesses the quality of the evidence. Through an innovative and insightful use of circumstantial evidence, it provides a much-needed reality check to claims about polarization. This rigorous yet engaging and accessible book examines how polarization displaced pluralism and how this affected American democracy and civil society.

Polarized challenges the widely held belief that polarization is the product of party and media elites, revealing instead how the American public in the 1960s set in motion the increase of polarization. American politics became highly polarized from the bottom up, not the top down, and this began much earlier than often thought. The Democrats and the Republicans are now ideologically distant from each other and about equally distant from the political center. Polarized also explains why the parties are polarized at all, despite their battle for the decisive median voter. No subject is more central to understanding American politics than political polarization, and no other book offers a more in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the subject than this one.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Making the Arab World by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book Albert Einstein, The Human Side by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book The I Ching by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book A World of Struggle by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book Making Volunteers by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book The Philosopher by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book The Importance of Being Civil by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book Anglican Communion in Crisis by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book Why You Hear What You Hear by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book Working Together by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book The Long Divergence by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book When Movements Anchor Parties by James E. Campbell
Cover of the book Rational Decisions by James E. Campbell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy