Overview

"In the United States, politics has become increasingly nationalized in recent years as voter decision-making is now driven by partisan or national political forces rather than the attributes of individual candidates. Indeed, voters now seem more concerned with which of the two national parties will be in power across all levels of government as opposed to which candidate will represent them individually. The phenomenon has now reached levels unseen since the nineteenth century, when the party ballot was in use and voters were generally unable to select among individual candidates. Nationalized Politics asks and answers the question, ""how has nationalization influenced elections across different political eras?"" Jamie L. Carson, Joel Sievert, and Ryan D. Williamson look at historical variation in nationalization through an analysis of congressional elections from 1840 to 2020. By examining roughly 180 years of elections, the authors leverage considerable differences in electoral competition, electoral rules, nationalization, polarization, and partisan advantage via the incumbency advantage. Moreover, Carson, Sievert, and Williamson employ a unique survey design to capture citizen attitudes toward the nationalization of politics to further consider the question of how nationalization is currently shaping politics. Providing a comprehensive history of US congressional elections, Nationalized Politics illustrates the roots of the current electoral landscape in the US."

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9780197669655

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Reviews

Carson, Sievert, and Williamson develop a sophisticated, over-time approach to understanding the causes and consequences of nationalization in American politics. They show that nationalization is not an end point; rather, it is an equilibrium state that American politics has moved towards and away from at various times over the last two centuries. This is a smart, insightful book with deep consequences for making sense of American political history, contemporary politics, and what might happen next. * William Bianco, Professor of Political Science, Indiana University * Carson, Sievert, and Williamson take a deep dive into data spanning 180 years of electoral history to delineate, explain, and weigh the consequences of variations over time in the nationalization of American elections. Among other valuable insights, they remind us that the current level of nationalization is not unique. This empirically rich and timely volume will enlighten anyone interested in the evolution and current state of US electoral politics. * Gary Jacobson, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of California, San Diego *

Author Information

Jamie L. Carson is the UGA Athletic Association Professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia. Joel Sievert is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas Tech University. Ryan D. Williamson is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Wyoming.

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