Dynamic Partisanship - by Ken Kollman (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Why do people identify with political parties and how stable are those identifications are over time and with changes in issues and party leadership? In an electoral democracy, parties act as a necessary link between voters and government. Stable party systems, with a relatively limited number of parties competing for control of government, and relatively stable voter identification with a party, are normally considered significant signals of a steady democracy. Ken Kollman and John E. Jackson study changing patterns of partisanship in four countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, over the last fifty years. In Dynamic Partisanship they observe changes in party identification since the 1960's in these four countries which they seek to explain. They find that changes in the parties' positions on important issues explains most of the change in party identification. An outstanding illustration of this effect is the example of white voters leaving the Democratic party as it came to embrace civil rights"--

Book Synopsis

Why do people identify with political parties? How stable are those identifications? Stable party systems, with a limited number of parties and mostly stable voter identification with a party, are normally considered significant signals of a steady democracy. In Dynamic Partisanship, Ken Kollman and John E. Jackson study changing patterns of partisanship in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia over the last fifty years in order to disentangle possible reasons for shifting partisanship and party identification. The authors argue that changes in partisanship can be explained by adjustments in voters' attitudes toward issues or parties; the success or failure of policies advocated by parties; or alterations in parties' positions on key issues. They contend that, while all three factors contribute, it is the latter, a party changing positions on a chief concern, that most consistently leads voters to or from a particular party. Their approach provides a deeper knowledge of the critical moving parts in democratic politics.

About the Author

Ken Kollman is the Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor and professor of political science at the University of Michigan. John E. Jackson is the M. Kent Jennings Collegiate Professor Emeritus of political science and professor emeritus of political science at the University of Michigan.