American Gridlock
The Sources, Character, and Impact of Political Polarization

American Gridlock is a comprehensive analysis of polarization encompassing national and state politics, voters, elites, activists, the media, and the three branches of government.

James A. Thurber (Edited by), Antoine Yoshinaka (Edited by)

9781107534698, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 4 February 2016

436 pages, 85 b/w illus. 28 tables
23 x 15.2 x 2.6 cm, 0.59 kg

'American Gridlock is an engaging, thoughtful improvement on this dismal picture. … The final insight of this very smart volume lies in its caution about institutional changes that might arrest and reduce polarization.' William Bianco, Congress and the Presidency

American Gridlock brings together the country's preeminent experts on the causes, characteristics, and consequences of partisan polarization in US politics and government, with each chapter presenting original scholarship and novel data. This book is the first to combine research on all facets of polarization, among the public (both voters and activists), in our federal institutions (Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court), at the state level, and in the media. Each chapter includes a bullet-point summary of its main argument and conclusions, and is written in clear prose that highlights the substantive implications of polarization for representation and policy-making. Authors examine polarization with an array of current and historical data, including public opinion surveys, electoral and legislative and congressional data, experimental data, and content analyses of media outlets. American Gridlock's theoretical and empirical depth distinguishes it from any other volume on polarization.

Part I. Polarization among Voters and Activists: 1. The new American electorate: partisan, sorted, and polarized Alan I. Abramowitz
2. Redistricting and polarization Micah Altman and Michael McDonald
3. Party activists, interest groups, and polarization in American politics David Karol
4. Authoritarianism and polarization in American politics, still? Marc J. Hetherington and Jonathan Weiler
5. Party sorting: the foundation of polarized politics Samuel J. Abrams and Morris P. Fiorina
Part II. Polarization in National Institutions: 6. Presidential-congressional relations in an era of polarized parties and a sixty-vote Senate Jon R. Bond, Richard Fleisher and Jeffrey E. Cohen
7. Party warriors: the ugly side of party polarization in Congress Sean M. Theriault
8. The sources and consequences of polarization in the US Supreme Court Brandon L. Bartels
Part III. Polarization in the States: 9. Polarization in American state legislatures Boris Shor
10. The costs of party reform: two states' experiences Seth E. Masket
11. The policy consequences of party polarization: evidence from the American States Elizabeth Rigby and Gerald C. Wright
Part IV. Polarization in the Media: 12. Partisan media and electoral polarization in 2012: evidence from the American National Election Study Gary C. Jacobson
13. News as a casualty: district polarization and media coverage of US House campaigns Danny Hayes and Jennifer L. Lawless
14. More a symptom than a cause: polarization and partisan news media in America Kevin Arceneaux and Martin Johnson
15. The polarizing effects of partisan and mainstream news Natalie Jomini Stroud and Alexander Curry
Part V. Implications and Conclusions: 16. Congressional polarization and its connection to income equality: an update Adam Bonica, Nolan McCarty, Keith T. Poole and Howard Rosenthal
17. The sources and impact of political polarization James A. Thurber and Antoine Yoshinaka.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC]