Political Parties, Realignment, and Polarization

Vocabulary flashcards covering the structure, historical development, realignment, polarization, and behavioral dynamics of political parties in the United States and comparative contexts.

Political Parties

Groups of people with similar interests who work together to create and implement policies, with the goals of winning elections, passing laws, and shaping government decisions.

Factions

James Madison's term in Federalist No. 10 referring to groups of citizens working together in pursuit of shared interests.

Big Tents

A descriptor for political parties that encompass and balance a broad range of differing viewpoints and voter coalitions to win elections.

Federalists

An early American political group led by Alexander Hamilton that advocated for a strong national central government.

Anti-Federalists

An early American political group that opposed strong centralized authority, advocating instead for state power and local control.

Corrupt Bargain

Andrew Jackson's term for the congressional deal that settled the presidential Election of 1824 and denied him the presidency.

Spoils System

The practice of rewarding loyal political party supporters with government jobs and appointments, popularized under Andrew Jackson.

Political Machines

Powerful local party organizations headed by party bosses that traded favors and municipal resources, such as housing or jobs, in exchange for votes.

Duverger’s Law

The principle formulated by French political scientist Maurice Duverger stating that single-seat plurality electoral systems structurally support only the number of parties that win plus one, resulting in a two-party system.

Plurality Voting

An election system in which the candidate who receives the most votes wins, making elections simple but discouraging third parties since second place receives nothing.

Proportional Representation

An electoral system in which legislative seats are allocated to political parties in proportion to the percentage of the total vote they receive.

Critical Election

A pivotal election marked by a dramatic and enduring shift in voter loyalties and coalition alignments across society.

Party Realignment

A long-term, lasting shift in which demographic and social groups support which political party.

New Deal Coalition

The broad voting coalition assembled by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932—consisting of African Americans, urban workers, and the poor—that underpinned Democratic electoral dominance for decades.

Southern Strategy

A Republican electoral strategy initiated in the 1960s by figures like Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon that mobilized white Southern voters by playing on racial grievances following the civil rights movement.

Party-in-the-Electorate

The members of the general public who identify with a political party or consistently cast their ballots for that party's candidates.

Party Organization

The formal operational structure of a political party whose active members coordinate campaigns, recruit candidates, raise funds, and develop party branding.

Party-in-Government

The elected and appointed public officials who identify with a political party and organize into legislative caucuses or conferences to determine leadership and policy priorities.

Whips

The second-highest-ranking party leaders in the House and Senate responsible for counting votes, ensuring member attendance, and maintaining party voting discipline.

Divided Government

A political scenario in which the presidency and at least one chamber of Congress are controlled by different political parties.

Unified Government

A political scenario in which the presidency and both chambers of Congress are controlled by the same political party.

Party Polarization

The widening ideological distance between political parties accompanied by a decline in moderates and a rise in strict party-line voting.

Sorting Thesis

The explanation for polarization stating that voters have increasingly realigned their party identification to match distinct national ideological platforms rather than local issues.

Gerrymandering

The deliberate redrawing of legislative district boundaries to grant an unfair electoral advantage to one political party by creating safe seats.

Short-Term Forces

Election-specific elements, such as individual candidates or current policy issues, that influence vote choice during a specific contest.

Long-Term Forces

Enduring psychological and social predispositions, including party identification, socialization, and generational changes, that consistently shape political behavior.

Secular Realignment

A gradual, long-term shift in voter party identification along ideological lines occurring across decades as parties become more ideologically distinct.

Changing Sides

A dynamic identified by Carsey and Layman wherein a voter switches their party identification in response to a change in policy preference, typically occurring when the issue is personally salient and party differences are known.

Changing Minds

A dynamic identified by Carsey and Layman wherein a voter alters their policy preferences to conform to their existing party identification, occurring when party differences are recognized but issue salience is low.

Selective Exposure

The psychological tendency of individuals to seek out information sources that align with their preexisting political beliefs and avoid dissonant or opposing viewpoints.

Dual Losers

Voters whose favored candidate lost at the district level and whose political party lost control statewide, identified by Tolbert, Smith, and Green as the group most likely to support legislative redistricting reform.