Book contents
- Democratic Resilience
- Democratic Resilience
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Why Might Polarization Harm Democracy?
- Part II Political Institutions in Polarized Times
- 4 Crosscutting Cleavages, Political Institutions, and Democratic Resilience in the United States
- 5 Unilateralism Unleashed?
- 6 Court-Packing and Democratic Erosion
- Part III Social Polarization and Partisanship
- Part IV Vicious Circles? The Relationship between Polarized Behavior and Institutions
- Part V Can Political Action Save Democracy in Polarized Times?
- Index
4 - Crosscutting Cleavages, Political Institutions, and Democratic Resilience in the United States
from Part II - Political Institutions in Polarized Times
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2021
- Democratic Resilience
- Democratic Resilience
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Part I Why Might Polarization Harm Democracy?
- Part II Political Institutions in Polarized Times
- 4 Crosscutting Cleavages, Political Institutions, and Democratic Resilience in the United States
- 5 Unilateralism Unleashed?
- 6 Court-Packing and Democratic Erosion
- Part III Social Polarization and Partisanship
- Part IV Vicious Circles? The Relationship between Polarized Behavior and Institutions
- Part V Can Political Action Save Democracy in Polarized Times?
- Index
Summary
Cross-cutting cleavages have long moderated party conflict in American politics and thereby contributed to democratic stability. Over recent decades, however, many of these cross-cutting cleavages have declined, sorting Americans into mutually antagonistic camps. Here I present data on the social composition of the parties in Congress indicating that they are increasingly differentiated by race, gender, and religion. Drawing on comparative work on democracy-building in divided societies, I argue that the deeper social divide between the parties makes American democracy more dependent upon political institutions that routinely impose power-sharing requirements on the major parties. Although polarization stresses the political system in numerous ways, American institutions still tend to block one party from running roughshod over the other. Such a political system risks immobilism and ineffectiveness, but it also promotes democratic stability.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Democratic ResilienceCan the United States Withstand Rising Polarization?, pp. 95 - 117Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021