How polarization begets polarization : ideological extremism in the US Congress / Samuel Merrill III, Bernard Grofman and Thomas L. Brunell.
| Author/creator | Merrill, Samuel, 1939- author. |
| Other author | Grofman, Bernard author. |
| Other author | Brunell, Thomas L. (Thomas Lloyd), 1968- author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2024] |
| Description | viii, 185 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Variant title | Ideological extremism in the United States Congress |
| Contents | Part 1. Where did polarization come from and why is it getting worse? -- Making sense of polarization -- How does party discipline generate polarization? -- Why, even in highly competitive districts, are candidate positions so different? -- Heterogeneity across districts and within-district partisan gap and proclivity -- Part 2. Consequences of polarization -- How do party loyalty and activist influence foster mobilizing the base? -- Consequences of polarized politics -- Discussion and conclusions -- Appendices. |
| Abstract | "Extreme polarization in American politics - and especially in the U.S. Congress - is perhaps the most confounding political phenomenon of our time. This book binds together polarization in Congress and polarization in the electorate within an ever-expanding feedback loop. This loop is powered by the discipline exerted by the respective political parties on their Congressional members and district candidates and maintained by the voters in each Congressional district who must choose between the alternatives offered. These alternatives are just as extreme in competitive as in lop-sided districts. Tight national party discipline produces party delegations in Congress that are each ideologically narrowly distributed but widely separated from one another. As district constituencies become more polarized and are egged on by activists, parties are further motivated to move past a threshold and appeal to their respective bases rather than to voters in the political center. America has indeed acquired parties with clear platforms - once thought to be a desirable goal, but these parties are now feuding camps. What resolution might there be? Just as the progressive movement slowly replaced the Gilded Age, might a new reform effort replace the current squabble? Or could an asymmetry develop in the partisan constraints that would lead to ascendancy of the center, or might a new and over-riding issue generate a cross-cutting dimension, opening the door to a new politics? Only the future will tell"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Issued in other form | Online version: Merrill, Samuel, 1939- How polarization begets polarization New York, N.Y. : Oxford University Press, [2024] 9780197745250 |
| LCCN | 2023017662 |
| ISBN | 9780197745236 paperback |
| ISBN | 0197745237 paperback |
| ISBN | 9780197745229 hardcover |
| ISBN | 0197745229 hardcover |
| ISBN | electronic publication |
| ISBN | electronic book |
| ISBN | electronic book other |