Understanding American political parties : democratic ideals, political uncertainty and strategic positioning / Jeffrey M. Stonecash.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stonecash, Jeffrey M., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political parties--United States.

Political parties.

Democracy--United States.

Democracy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

How do parties respond to the electorate and craft winning strategies? In the abstract parties are the vehicles to make democracy work, but it is often difficult to see the process working as well as we think it might. Indeed, voters often struggle to see parties as the valuable vehicles of representation that so many academics describe. There is a clear discrepancy between the ideal expressed in many textbooks and the reality that we see playing out in politics. Noted scholar Jeffrey Stonecash gives us a big picture analysis that helps us understand what is happening in contemporary

Contents:

1. Democracy and the ideal role of political parties

2. Enduring doubts about political parties

3. Notions of party and conflict

4. Shifting electoral bases

5. Conflicting interpretations of change

6. The lack of a majority

7. Continuing social change and events

8. Voters, partisanship and the media

9. Enduring uncertainty and troubling behaviors

10. Pursuing coalitions and an identity : long-term strategies

11. Disparaging the other party : short-term strategies

12. Democracy and the continuous campaign.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on metadata supplied by the publisher and other sources.

ISBN:

1-136-33920-5

1-283-60692-5

9786613919373

1-136-33921-3

0-203-12344-1

9780203123447

OCLC:

811506238