Divergent Democracy: How Policy Positions Came to Dominate Party Competition

The competition between America’s two political parties was not always based around policy positions. The parties used be clientelistic subnational organizations promising material support or jobs in return for votes. Now the competition between is about policy positions. How did that change happen?

In Divergent Democracy, Katherine Krimmel uses cutting edge machine learning techniques to develop and present the first measure of party differentiation on issues since Democrats and Republicans began competing with each other in 1856. Using both quantitative and qualitative tools, Krimmel offers a vital view of the foundations of today’s issue-based party competition and its alternatives.