Two Parties--or More?

Students of American government are faced with an enduring dilemma: Why two parties? Why has this system remained largely intact while around the world democracies support multiparty systems? Should our two-party system continue as we enter the new millennium? This newly revised and updated edition of Two Parties-Or More? answers these questions by

Autorentext

"JOHN F. BIBBY is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and the author of Politics, Parties, and Elections in America, Governing by Consent, and the co-author of Party Organizations in American Politics. He was the 2001 recipient of the Samuel J. Eldersveld Lifetime Award and has held leadership positions in national, state, and local party organizations. L. SANDY MAISEL is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Government and chair of the Department of Government at Colby College. Former president of the New England Political Science Association and chair of the Legislative Studies and Political Organizations and Parties sections of the American Political Science Association, Maisel is the general editor of Political Parties and Elections in the United States, editor of The Parties Respond, Fourth Edition (Westview Press), and author of Parties and Elections in America."

Inhalt

Tables and Figures, Preface and Acknowledgments, Third Parties in American Politics, Varieties and Definitions of Third Parties, Subpresidential Politics, The Dilemma of the Two-Party System, Minor Parties in a Two-Party System: Historical Perspectives, The Emergence of a Party System, The Pre-Civil War Era: Two-Party Competition, in or Party Eruptions, The Post-Civil War Era: Republican Ascendancy, Sectionalism, Transient Third Parties, The 1896 Election: Electoral Realignment, Republican Resurgence, Progressivism and the Emergence of the New Deal Democratic Coalition, The Ascendancy of the New Deal Democratic Coalition, The Post-New Deal System: Divided Government, Candidate-Centered Politics, Continuing Third-Party and Independent Candidacies, Elections 2000: Reform Party Disintegration and Green Party Emergence, Minor Parties in State Politics, Lessons from Party History, Third Parties in the American Context: A Less Than Friendly Environment, Why Two Major Parties and Not a Multiparty System?, Institutional Barriers to Multiparty Politics, Assessing Public Support for the Republicans and Democrats, Fear of "Wasting" One's Vote: Strategic Voting in Recent Presidential Elections, Multiparty Systems at the State Level: The Overwhelming Tides of National Politics, An Environment Hostile to Third Parties, The Public Demand for Alternatives, Discontent at the Ballot Box with Two-Party Alternatives, Public Opinion on the Performance of Our Two-Party Political System, Politicians' Responses to Public Discontent, Causes of the Dissatisfaction, Consequences of "Alternative" Governments, Political Parties in the Twenty-First Century, The Future of Two-Party Politics in America, A Defense of Two-Party Politics in America, Reforming the Two-Party System, Discussion Questions, Glossary, Appendix, Notes, References, Index