More parties or no parties : the politics of electoral reform in America / Jack Santucci.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Santucci, Jack, author.

Series:

Oxford Academic.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Elections--United States.

Elections.

Political parties--United States.

Political parties.

Two-party systems--United States.

Two-party systems.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (247 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2022]

Summary:

How should we think about electoral reform? What are the prospects for modern-day efforts to reform away the two-party system? This book offers a "shifting coalitions" theory of electoral-system change, puts the Progressive Era in comparative perspective, and warns against repeating history. It casts reform as an effort to get or keep control of government, usually during periods of party realignment. Reform can be used to insulate some coalition, dislodge the one in power, or deal with noncommittal "centrists." Whether reform lasts depends less on the number of parties than on whether it helps coalitions hold themselves together. This is where the Progressives got it wrong. Unable to win support for "multi-party politics," they built a reform movement on the idea of "no parties." They polarized local politics on the issue of "corruption," won proportional representation in twenty-four cities, then watched (and sometimes joined) its repeal in all but one case. Along the way, they found they needed parties after all, but the rules they had designed were not up to the task. This movement's legacy still shapes American politics: nonpartisan elections to undersized city councils. Today's reformers might do well to make peace with parties, and their critics might do well to make peace with having more.

Contents:

List of Figures

List of Tables

Acknowledgments

Preface

1. Forcing Reform onto a Two-Party System

1.1 On party lists and "vote leakage"

1.2 A shifting-coalitions theory of reform

1.3 Comparing the American reform path

1.4 Plan of book

2. Party Government and Electoral Reform

2.1 Definitions

2.2 The logic of party government

2.3 Shifting coalitions, three kinds of reform

2.4 The reform coalition shapes the rules

2.5 The rules affect how you govern

2.6 Recap

3. From More Parties to No Parties

3.1 Mugwumps versus left parties, 1893-1913

3.2 The menu of proportional systems

3.3 Party lists get their test

3.4 The Model City Charter emerges

3.5 Recap

4. Spreading the Reform Template

4.1 Coalition-realigning STV adoption

4.2 Plurality charter adoption

4.3 Different reforms in three New England cities

4.4 Sources of party disunity

4.5 Recap

5. Rediscovering Party Government

5.1 Chaos in Cleveland, Cincinnati solution

5.2 Lessons learned at the top

5.3 Incidence of good-government slates

5.4 Recap

6. The Price of Coalition

6.1 Electoral systems and public spending

6.2 Spending in three types of cities, 1930-60

6.3 At-large election, local representation

6.4 Seeds of destruction?

6.5 Recap

7. Legislative Limbo, Polarizing Repeal

7.1 Illustrating legislative limbo

7.2 Cincinnati, 1925-57

7.3 New York City, 1937-47

7.4 Worcester, 1949-60

7.5 Stopping the leak in Cambridge, 1941-69

7.6 Conclusion and notes on other cases

7.7 Recap

8. More Parties or No Parties?

8.1 Summary of core points

8.2 Prospects for a proportional U.S. House

8.3 Back to the future?

8.4 Making reform work

Appendix A: Repeal Coalitions and Candidate Entry

A.1 Cincinnati

A.2 New York City

A.3 Worcester

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on Publisher website; title from home page (viewed on June 08, 2022).

Other Format:

Print version: Santucci, Jack More Parties or No Parties

ISBN:

0-19-763068-5

0-19-763066-9

0-19-763067-7

OCLC:

1333082653