America's two party system is highly stable, but its parties' issue positions are not. Democrats and Republicans have changed sides on many subjects, including trade, civil rights, defense spending, and fiscal policy, and polarized on newer issues like abortion and gun control. Yet party position change remains poorly understood. In this book David Karol views parties as coalitions of groups with intense preferences on particular issues managed by politicians. He explains important variations in party position change: the speed of shifts, the stability of new positions, and the extent to which change occurs via adaptation by incumbents. Karol shows that the key question is whether parties are reacting to changed preferences of coalition components, incorporating new constituencies, or experimenting on "groupless" issues. He reveals that adaptation by incumbents is a far greater source of change than previously recognized. This study enhances our understanding of parties, interest groups, and representation.
Author: David Karol Publisher: Cambridge University Press Published: 12/01/2009 Pages: 328 Binding Type: Paperback Weight: 1.00lbs Size: 8.80h x 5.90w x 0.90d ISBN: 9780521738194
About the Author Karol, David: - David Karol is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science, UC Berkeley. He was formerly a Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University. He is co-author of The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform and co-editor of Evolution and Revolution in the Presidential Nominations Process: 2008 and Beyond. His work has appeared in the Journal of Politics, Studies in American Political Development, International Organization, Brookings Review, and The Forum. He has lectured in Europe and Asia and is frequently interviewed in electronic and print media.
