Political Parties and Loser's Consent in American Politics

Bibliographic Data

ID5741375
AuthorsGeoffrey C Layman (0000-0002-5955-920X, corresponding author), Geoffrey Layman, Frances Lee (0000-0002-9857-7494), Christina Wolbrecht (0000-0001-9472-2511)
Year2023
Volume708
Issue1
Pages164-183
Publication date2023-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7162 • E-ISSN: 1552-3349
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/00027162241229309
OpenAlexW4392999682
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited46

Social science has established that political parties have been indispensable to American democracy and their most active members as keepers of the democratic flame. The aftermath of the 2020 presidential election raised questions about the role of the parties in protecting democracy, particularly the fundamental democratic norm of "loser's consent." We argue that recent political developments-close elections, ideological polarization, participatory party nominations, and changes in campaign finance and media-have worked to undermine the parties' commitment to loser's consent. We use recent survey data to show that party activists no longer demonstrate greater commitment than do ordinary citizens to democratic norms-especially to loser's consent. We also examine how parties and voters responded to the post-2020 crisis of democratic legitimacy, finding that both parties prioritized their political interests over democratic health. However, a small number of voters did deviate from normal partisanship and helped to shore up American democracy in the 2022 elections

Democracy · Democratic legitimacy · Legitimacy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Presidential election · Presidential system · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Public Administration · Social Media and Politics

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