Polarized: Making Sense of a Divided America

Awards:   Commended for Choice 's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 2016 Commended for Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 2016
Author:   James E. Campbell ,  James E. Campbell
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Edition:   2nd edition
ISBN:  

9780691180861


Pages:   336
Publication Date:   27 March 2018
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

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Polarized: Making Sense of a Divided America


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Awards

  • Commended for Choice 's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 2016
  • Commended for Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 2016

Overview

An eye-opening look at how and why America has become so politically polarized Many continue to believe that the United States is a nation of political moderates. In fact, it is a nation divided. It has been so for some time and has grown more so. This book provides a new and historically grounded perspective on the polarization of America, systematically documenting how and why it happened. Polarized presents commonsense benchmarks to measure polarization, draws data from a wide range of historical sources, and carefully assesses the quality of the evidence. Through an innovative and insightful use of circumstantial evidence, it provides a much-needed reality check to claims about polarization. This rigorous yet engaging and accessible book examines how polarization displaced pluralism and how this affected American democracy and civil society. Polarized challenges the widely held belief that polarization is the product of party and media elites, revealing instead how the American public in the 1960s set in motion the increase of polarization. American politics became highly polarized from the bottom up, not the top down, and this began much earlier than often thought. The Democrats and the Republicans are now ideologically distant from each other and about equally distant from the political center. Polarized also explains why the parties are polarized at all, despite their battle for the decisive median voter. No subject is more central to understanding American politics than political polarization, and no other book offers a more in-depth and comprehensive analysis of the subject than this one.

Full Product Details

Author:   James E. Campbell ,  James E. Campbell
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Edition:   2nd edition
Weight:   0.482kg
ISBN:  

9780691180861


ISBN 10:   0691180865
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   27 March 2018
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

Reviews

Campbell has written a well-researched, highly provocative volume on American political polarization, which challenges a great deal of conventional wisdom on the subject.--Choice Campbell makes a forceful case for his point of view, arguing that America is no longer a pluralist polity characterized by a moderate, compromising politics. Even if one disagrees with him, one knows where he stands and why. Polarized is a learning experience, for protagonists and antagonists alike. --Michael S. Lewis-Beck, coauthor of The American Voter Revisited Regardless of where you stand in the debate about polarization, there is no question that anyone interested in the subject must seriously engage Campbell's nuanced theoretical arguments and careful empirical analyses. --Morris P. Fiorina, Stanford University A must-read for anyone interested in the evolution and current state of American politics. Campbell flips much of the conventional wisdom about polarization on its head--rather than being a top-down or elite-driven phenomenon, polarization is driven largely by the American public and their shifting views. --James N. Druckman, coauthor of Who Governs?: Presidents, Public Opinion, and Manipulation Rigorous, balanced, and insightful, Polarized is a major contribution to our understanding of political polarization. --George C. Edwards III, author of Predicting the Presidency: The Potential of Persuasive Leadership If recent elections have proven anything, it is how deeply polarized American voters really are. In this remarkably perceptive and probing book, Campbell explains how and why this phenomenon began and developed. You'll be surprised by some of his findings. We can't reduce paralyzing polarization until we truly understand it. Thanks to Campbell, we're much better equipped. --Larry J. Sabato, author of The Kennedy Half-Century I believe that Campbell has succeeded in proposing a new plotline about polarization that, as it develops and deepens over time, will prove to be the third major set of claims that scholars and pundits will need to address.---John H. Aldrich, Journal of Politics [Polarized] deserves to be read widely and carefully.... A better analysis of our parties' polarization than any other I've seen.---Harvey C. Mansfield, Claremont Review of Books [Polarized] is a vital contribution to the literature on polarization.... Those looking for a cutting-edge entry point into the current state of thinking need look no further.---Matthew Glassman, Congress & the Presidency Anyone interested in this subject should read this book.... It is an essential and excellent analysis that should be widely read.---Jeffrey M. Stonecash, Public Opinion Quarterly An excellent book on this contested and . . . polarizing . . . topic.---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016


James Campbell explores our politics' characteristic dividedness in an excellent new book, starkly titled Polarized, that deserves to be read widely and carefully. . . . His writing is forceful and clear, and his book is far from forbidding. . . . A better analysis of our parties' polarization than any other I've seen. --Harvey C. Mansfield, Claremont Review of Books [Polarized] is a vital contribution to the literature on polarization. . . . Those looking for a cutting-edge entry point into the current state of thinking need look no further. --Matthew Glassman, Congress & the Presidency Anyone interested in this subject should read this book. . . . Campbell provides a very thorough base for understanding the debate about the sources of polarization in the past 50 years. It is an essential and excellent analysis that should be widely read. --Jeffrey M. Stonecash, Public Opinion Quarterly Campbell has written a well-researched, highly provocative volume on American political polarization, which challenges a great deal of conventional wisdom on the subject. --Choice An excellent book on this contested and . . . polarizing . . . topic. --Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016


Campbell has written a well-researched, highly provocative volume on American political polarization, which challenges a great deal of conventional wisdom on the subject.--Choice A must-read for anyone interested in the evolution and current state of American politics. Campbell flips much of the conventional wisdom about polarization on its head--rather than being a top-down or elite-driven phenomenon, polarization is driven largely by the American public and their shifting views. --James N. Druckman, coauthor of Who Governs?: Presidents, Public Opinion, and Manipulation Rigorous, balanced, and insightful, Polarized is a major contribution to our understanding of political polarization. --George C. Edwards III, author of Predicting the Presidency: The Potential of Persuasive Leadership Campbell makes a forceful case for his point of view, arguing that America is no longer a pluralist polity characterized by a moderate, compromising politics. Even if one disagrees with him, one knows where he stands and why. Polarized is a learning experience, for protagonists and antagonists alike. --Michael S. Lewis-Beck, coauthor of The American Voter Revisited Regardless of where you stand in the debate about polarization, there is no question that anyone interested in the subject must seriously engage Campbell's nuanced theoretical arguments and careful empirical analyses. --Morris P. Fiorina, Stanford University If recent elections have proven anything, it is how deeply polarized American voters really are. In this remarkably perceptive and probing book, Campbell explains how and why this phenomenon began and developed. You'll be surprised by some of his findings. We can't reduce paralyzing polarization until we truly understand it. Thanks to Campbell, we're much better equipped. --Larry J. Sabato, author of The Kennedy Half-Century I believe that Campbell has succeeded in proposing a new plotline about polarization that, as it develops and deepens over time, will prove to be the third major set of claims that scholars and pundits will need to address.---John H. Aldrich, Journal of Politics [Polarized] is a vital contribution to the literature on polarization.... Those looking for a cutting-edge entry point into the current state of thinking need look no further.---Matthew Glassman, Congress & the Presidency An excellent book on this contested and . . . polarizing . . . topic.---Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution [Polarized] deserves to be read widely and carefully.... A better analysis of our parties' polarization than any other I've seen.---Harvey C. Mansfield, Claremont Review of Books Anyone interested in this subject should read this book.... It is an essential and excellent analysis that should be widely read.---Jeffrey M. Stonecash, Public Opinion Quarterly One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016


Author Information

James E. Campbell is UB Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York.

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