Journalists and the general public have seized upon the notion of "red" and "blue" states to better understand the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, but this conception of political geography is seldom placed in historical perspective. In Electoral Realignment and the Outlook for American Democracy, Arthur Paulson analyzes the impact of ideological polarization on political parties and electoral realignment in the contemporary United States. Recalling the extensive realignment that occurred between 1964 and 1972 (with the contentious 1968 election as its fulcrum) and the three decades of split-ticket voting and "divided government" (most often featuring a Republican president and a Democratic Congress) that followed, Paulson recognizes the resurgence of party-line voting in the last decade. A new, ideologically polarized party system--resembling a responsible party system more than has ever been the case in the American experience--has taken shape. The American polity continues to realign, and Paulson discusses how the forces at work are reshaping the party system in particular and the health of American democracy in general. Although the United States is an "advanced" democracy, he demonstrates the need to view even American democracy as "developing." If American democracy is to thrive, Paulson says, it must change to meet the realities of a rapidly changing world. The realigned system presents challenges to national unity, but it also offers opportunities for debating compelling issues that demand extreme choices, including zero-sum economics in a postindustrial society, globalization and the international economy, development and underdevelopment around the world, andterrorism, war, and peace.
Strong on realignment theory, Paulson's timely and authoritative study incorporates the latest data from the 2000 and 2004 elections into his analysis, and it offers vital perspectives on the outlook for the 2008 election. Scholars and students of the American political system, American government, comparative politics, political theory, electoral politics, and American political culture will embrace this text, which easily lends itself to classroom adoption.