Institutional Development of Parties and the Thesis of Party Decline
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4292136 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cornelius P Cotter, John F Bibby |
| Year | 1980 |
| Volume | 95 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-27 |
| Publication date | 1980-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Science Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-3195 • E-ISSN: 1538-165X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2149582 |
| OpenAlex | W2320720109 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 63 |
The theories by which social scientists attempt to explain complex social trends are necessarily partial and grounded upon limited expertise and particular experiences. In a disconcerting way, such theories tend to be outstripped by the pace of the change that they are designed to explain, and observation and data collecting continue to be guided by the partially outmoded theories. The recognition by scholars that events are occurring in combinations that do not conform to theory can be a wrenching experience. Economists and government decision makers are perplexed by the anomaly of recession and rising unemployment accompanied by rising interest rates and increasing inflation. This conjunction does not conform to the expectations derived from accepted economic theory. Political scientists, pushing the concept of electoral realignment to the limits of its logic and working from the methodological strength of survey and attitudinal research, have formulated and tested a theory of politics that leads them to conclude that American political parties are in steady decline and may verge upon extinction. The electorate's declining commitment to party, the apparent lessened interest of activists in party organization, and the salience of personality and issue over party loyalty are indicators of party decline. This conclusion may have merit when considered in terms of the capacity of party organizations to broker presidential nominations or manage presidential campaigns. This article presents evidence supporting a contrary thesis; that is, while national parties are less involved than in the past in controlling presidential nominations
Economic system · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Economic Theory and Institutions · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Public Administration
Party Campaign Activity and Party Unity in the U. S. House of Representatives
Explaining Cross-State Variation in Independent Identification
Party Organizational Strength and Public Support for Parties
Whither the Local Parties
The Presidentialization of Contemporary Democratic Politics
Partisan Models and the Search for Party Effects in the US Senate
Interest Group Theory
The Party Faithful
How Parties Nominate Presidents
The Comparative Advantage of State Interest Organization Research
Theories of Parties
The Road Less Taken
Party Coalitions in the US Congress
Social and Economic Justice Movements and Organizations
Who Sings in the Heavenly Chorus?
Party Nominating Procedures and Recruitment—State and Local Level
Activists, Influence, and Representation in American Elections
Methodological Issues in the Study of Political Parties
Political Parties and Consultants
State Parties Research
The Mobilization and Influence of Business Interests
What a Difference Twenty-Five Years Makes
Interest Groups and Agendas
Interest Groups in American Elections
The State of Research on Political Parties and Interest Groups
The Evolution of National Party Organizations
Lobbying and Influence
Urban Interest Groups
The Evolution and Alteration of American Party Coalitions
The Pure Partisan Institution
Linking Political Parties and Interest Groups
The President, Party Politics, and Constitutional Development
Winning Isn't Everything
Methodological Perspectives on Interest Groups
American Political Parties
The Oxford handbook of American political parties and interest groups
Programmatic Supply and the Autonomy of US State Parties in 2008 and 2010
Scottish Labour as a case study in party failure
Party Brands and the Democratic and Republican National Committees, 1952–1976
The Transformation of Political Institutions
Revisiting McGovern-Fraser
Presidents as Agents of Change
Franklin D. Roosevelt and The Transcendence of Partisan Politics
Political reform and the decline of party
The New Deal, Administrative Reform, and the Transcendence of Partisan Politics
Changing Party Loyalty of State Delegations to the U.S. House of Representatives, 1953-1976
National Party Decision Making, Strategies, and Resource Distribution in Congressional Elections
Local Political Party Committees, Task Performance and Organizational Vitality
State Parties in the 2000 Senate Elections
Party Response to Environmental Change
The Party, Going Strong
Party Integration and Party Organizational Strength
Trump and the Party-in-Organization
Neoconservatism in Contemporary Political Science
Do Parties Make a Difference? The Role of Party Organizations in Congressional Elections
Bringing home the votes
Examining Democratic and Republican National Committee Party Branding Activity, 1953–2012
George W. Bush, the Republican Party, and the “New” American Party System
Party Leaders, Power and Change
Measuring Party Organization in the United States
Be Careful What You Wish For
The Role of Research in the Unification of a Discipline
The Decline of Political Partisanship in the United States
| Unique citing works | 63 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,4 |
| Citation span | 1981 - 2023 (43) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 59 |