Political Polarization in American Politics

by John Sides (Editor), Daniel J. Hopkins (Editor)

Overview

Political Polarization in American Politics provides short, accessible chapters about the nature and extent of political polarization within the American public and in American political institutions. These chapters capture the central ideas and debates in political science research on polarization, and are written by leading scholars in this subfield. Each chapter is accompanied by discussion questions and a guide to further reading, making this a great addition to any course looking at issues of polarization.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501306280
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	03/12/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Daniel J. Hopkins is Associate Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University, USA. He contributes to The Monkey Cage and FiveThirtyEight.

John Sides is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at George Washington University, USA. He is the co-author of The Gamble: Choice and Chance in the 2012 Presidential Election (2013). He contributes to The Monkey Cage.
John Sides is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at George Washington University, USA. He is the co-author of a book about the 2012 campaign, The Gamble, and scholarly articles on campaign strategy and its effects, attitudes toward immigration, and other topics. He contributes to The Monkey Cage.
Daniel J. Hopkins is Associate Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University, USA. He is the author of many articles on American politics, public opinion, immigration, and political methodology. He contributes to The Monkey Cage and 538.

Table of Contents

Preface
Contributors
1. What we know and don't know about our polarized politics-Nolan McCarty
How are we polarized?
2. Partisan warfare is the problem-Sean Theriault
3. How U.S. state legislatures are polarized and getting more polarized-Boris Shor
4. Our politics is polarized on more issues than ever before-Thomas Carsey and Geoffrey Layman
5. How politically moderate Americans? Less than it seems-Christopher Hare and Keith Poole
6. Americans aren't polarized, just better sorted-Morris Fiorina and Samuel Abrams
7. Are politicians and activists reliably 'more extreme' than voters? A skeptical perspective– David Broockman
8. Party polarization is making us more prejudiced-Lilliana Mason
9. Politics stops at the water's edge? Not recently-Robert Lieber
Why are we polarized?
10. The two key factors behind our polarized politics-Jeff Stonecash
11. American politics is more competitive than ever, and that's making partisanship worse-Frances Lee
12. How race and religion have polarized American voters-Alan Abramowitz
13. How ideological activists constructed our polarized parties-Hans Noel
14. How better educated whites are driving political polarization-Andrew Gelman
15. Are Fox and MSNBC polarizing America?-Matthew Levendusky
16. Why you shouldn't blame polarization on partisan news-Kevin Arceneaux
17. The media make us think we're more polarized than we really are-Matthew Levendusky and Neil Malhotra
Polarization Abroad
18. Sure, Congress is polarized. But other legislatures are more so-David Brady
19. Canada is polarizing-and it's because of the parties-Richard Johnston
20. In Britain, polarization could be the solution-Rob Ford
What Can Be Done?
21. Our politics may be polarized, but that's nothing new-David Brady and Hahrie Hahn
22. Polarization in Congress has risen sharply. Where is it going next?-Christopher Hare, Keith Poole, and Howard Rosenthal
23. Can young voters break the cycle of polarization?-Robert Shapiro
24. How to fix our polarized politics? Strengthen political parties-Richard Pildes
25. Our political parties are network, not fragmented-Seth Masket
26. Gridlock is bad. The alternative is worse-Morris Fiorina

Editorial Reviews

Fans of the Monkey Cage will be indebted to Daniel Hopkins and John Sides for this timely volume of essays about the extent, origins and causes of polarization between Democrats and Republicans in contemporary American politics. The short, accessible pieces by some of the nation's most distinguished scholars will prove invaluable to journalists and professors looking for concise, trenchant materials about America's troubled party system. Students, especially, will benefit from seeing how skillful empirical analysis illuminates or contradicts widely held beliefs about partisan politics.
Linda Fowler, Professor of Government, Darmouth College, USA

Hopkins and Sides have assembled an outstanding collection of concise and accessible essays that lay out the latest research on the facts, origins, and potential solutions regarding polarization in American politics. This book is an excellent resource for students, teachers, and anyone interested in understanding polarization from the country's leading experts.
Eleanor Neff Powell, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

This collection of short essays is easily the broadest and most accessible treatment of polarization available. Drawing on the work of dozens of distinguished scholars, this collection covers whether we are polarized at mass and elite levels, why we are polarized, and what might be done about it. Dispensing with technical jargon, the authors make their cases briefly and succinctly without sacrificing the complexity of the issue. This would be an excellent volume to use for stimulating discussion in an undergraduate class on public opinion and American politics.
Diana C. Mutz, Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication, University of Pennsylvania, USA

This is a superb volume of thoughtful and wide-ranging essays on polarization by some of the best scholars in the political science field. If you want to learn about the causes, effects, and consequences of polarization in American politics and society, this should be your go-to source.
Jeffery A. Jenkins, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics, University of Virginia, USA

From the Publisher

Fans of the Monkey Cage will be indebted to Daniel Hopkins and John Sides for this timely volume of essays about the extent, origins and causes of polarization between Democrats and Republicans in contemporary American politics. The short, accessible pieces by some of the nation's most distinguished scholars will prove invaluable to journalists and professors looking for concise, trenchant materials about America's troubled party system. Students, especially, will benefit from seeing how skillful empirical analysis illuminates or contradicts widely held beliefs about partisan politics.

Linda Fowler

Hopkins and Sides have assembled an outstanding collection of concise and accessible essays that lay out the latest research on the facts, origins, and potential solutions regarding polarization in American politics. This book is an excellent resource for students, teachers, and anyone interested in understanding polarization from the country's leading experts.

Eleanor Neff Powell

This collection of short essays is easily the broadest and most accessible treatment of polarization available. Drawing on the work of dozens of distinguished scholars, this collection covers whether we are polarized at mass and elite levels, why we are polarized, and what might be done about it. Dispensing with technical jargon, the authors make their cases briefly and succinctly without sacrificing the complexity of the issue. This would be an excellent volume to use for stimulating discussion in an undergraduate class on public opinion and American politics.

Diana C. Mutz

This is a superb volume of thoughtful and wide-ranging essays on polarization by some of the best scholars in the political science field. If you want to learn about the causes, effects, and consequences of polarization in American politics and society, this should be your go-to source.

Jeffery A. Jenkins