Review Essay: Whither Realignment?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2374-7781.1990.11.0.137-150Abstract
The “realignment era” in American political science began thirtyfive years ago, when Key (1955) proposed “A Theory of Critical Elections.” In his wake, realignment scholarship has proliferated far and wide (Bass 1991). The concept of realignment pervades contemporary scholarship on American political parties. The “textbook” treatment of the history of party competition in the United States posits periodic realigning elections that substantially alter group bases of party coalitions and establish enduring party systems. The initial analytical focus of the party in the electorate now extends to the party in government, linking elections with public policy. Since political parties constitute central integrating institutions in the political process, realignment has become a key conceptual lens for viewing and interpreting the whole of American political life. Indeed, it has escaped the bounds of scholarship and entered into popular discourse. Further, as subjects of realignment studies, the United States and its component political units now compete with numerous non-American systems.References
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