Machine generated contents note: 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.
Summary:
"Partisan polarization among the public, activists, and elected officials characterizes American politics in the 21st century, and it is often seen as the major source of our governing problems (Schaffner, 2011). Republicans and Democrats are further apart ideologically than at any point in recent history, expressing highly negative views of the opposing party (Doherty, 2014). The deleterious impact of partisan polarization cannot be exaggerated. It discourages compromise, produces gridlock, fosters mistrust, and ultimately hinders the functioning of governmental institutions. Lawmaking, representing, overseeing, executing laws, and adjudicating legal and constitutional disputes requires that individuals who might otherwise disagree come together and serve interests that go beyond their own. Failure to compromise results in gridlock, dysfunction, and partisan warfare"-- Provided by publisher.
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