Political Parties and American Democracy Mini-Conference II: Authors Meet Critics: Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler's "Partisan Nation"

Session Submission Type: Author meet critics

Part of Mini-Conference

• Political Parties and American Democracy Mini-Conference II

Session Description

This panel will discuss Pierson and Schickler's major new work, _Partisan Nation: The Unmaking of the U.S. Constitutional Order_ (forthcoming 2024 by U. of Chicago Press). This book, by two of the field's most renowned scholars, is a fascinating exploration of contemporary American polarization in historical perspective. Its authors argue that the implications of polarization are now much graver than those in prior periods. In the past, mediating institutions such as fragmented state parties, loosely aligned interest groups, and locally-rooted press moderated the negative effects of polarization. In today's highly nationalized partisan environment, these brakes on the dangers of polarization for America's separation-of-powers system are much weakened. The panel features experts in American and comparative politics who will engage with the book from a variety of perspectives.

Sub Unit

• Theme Panel

Cosponsor

• Division 7: Politics and History

Chair

• Robert Mickey University of Michigan

Presenters

• Suzanne Mettler Cornell University

• Hakeem Jerome Jefferson Stanford University

• Katherine Krimmel Barnard College, Columbia University

• Paul Pierson University of California, Berkeley

• Eric Schickler University of California, Berkeley

• Daniel F. Ziblatt Harvard University