Political realignment : economics, culture, and electoral change / Russell J. Dalton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dalton, Russell J., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political participation.

Political sociology.

Politics and government.

Western countries--Politics and government--21st century.

Western countries.

Political sociology--Western countries.

Political participation--Western countries.

Physical Description:

xvi, 268 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2018.

Summary:

The process of electoral change is accelerating in contemporary democracies, and this book explains why. The emergence of Green parties in the 1980s and recent far right parties, Brexit and Trump's 2016 victory are parts of this overall process. 0'Political Realignment' tracks the evolution of citizen and elite opinions on economic and cultural issues from the 1970s to the 2010s-and the impact of these changes on electoral politics and public policy. Citizen positions on these cleavages have realigned over time, producing a similar realignment in the structure of the party systems to represent these demands. Economic issues remain important, now joined by divisions on cultural issues as a backlash to modernization. Assembling an unprecedented time series of empirical evidence, this study explains the new forces of elector change in both Europe and the United States.

Contents:

The evolution of political competition

Part I. Social structure and political cleavages

Citizens, issues, and political cleavages

The social distribution of cleavage positions

Political cleavages across nations

Elites, issues, and political cleavages

Part II. Political cleavages and party alignments

Political cleavages and political parties

Electoral choice: voter demand and party supply

Congruence and representation

The American experience. Part III. Conclusion

Realignment and beyond.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Electronic version: Dalton, Russell J. Political realignment.

ISBN:

019883098X

9780198830986

OCLC:

1029892235