"In What Happened to the Vital Center?, Nicholas Jacobs and Sidney Milkis tackle a foundational question within American political history: Is current partisan polarization, aggravated by populist disdain for constitutional principles and institutions, a novel development in American politics?...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben

Hauptverfasser:	Jacobs, Nicholas 19XX- (VerfasserIn), Milkis, Sidney M. 1951- (VerfasserIn)
Format:	Buch
Sprache:	English
Veröffentlicht:	New York, NY Oxford University Press [2022]
Schlagworte:	Geschichte Politik Polarisierung Parteiensystem Populismus USA Executive power / United States Populism / United States Polarization (Social sciences) / United States Pouvoir exécutif / États-Unis Populisme / États-Unis Polarisation collective / États-Unis Executive power Polarization (Social sciences) Populism United States
Zusammenfassung:	"In What Happened to the Vital Center?, Nicholas Jacobs and Sidney Milkis tackle a foundational question within American political history: Is current partisan polarization, aggravated by populist disdain for constitutional principles and institutions, a novel development in American politics? Populism is not a new threat to the country's democratic experiment, but now insurgents intrude directly on elections and government. During previous periods of populist unrest, the US was governed by resilient parties that moderated extremist currents within the political system. This began to crumble during the 1960s, as anti-institutionalist incursions into the Democratic and Republican organizations gave rise to reforms that empowered activists at the expense of the median voter and shifted the controlling power over parties to the executive branch. Gradually, the moderating influence that parties played in structuring campaigns and the policy process eroded to the point where extreme polarization dominated and decision-making power migrated to the presidency. Weakened parties were increasingly dominated by presidents and their partnerships with social activists, leading to a gridlocked system characterized by the politics of demonization and demagoguery. Executive-centered parties more easily ignore the sorts of moderating voices that had prevailed in an earlier era. While the Republican Party is more susceptible to the dangers of populism than the Democrats, both parties are animated by a presidency-led, movement-centered vision of democracy. After tracing this history, the authors dismiss calls to return to some bygone era. Rather, the final section highlights the ways in which the two parties can be revitalized as institutions of collective responsibility that can transform personal ambition and rancorous partisanship into principled conflict over the profound issues that now divide the country. The book will transform our understanding of how we ended up in our current state of extreme polarization and what we can do to fix it."--Provided by publisher
Beschreibung:	ix, 362 Seiten 24 cm
ISBN:	9780197603529 9780197603512