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The Decline of Political Partisanship in the United States: Negativity or Neutrality?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Martin P. Wattenberg
Martin P. Wattenberg*
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
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Abstract

This article examines attitudes towards the two major political parties in the United States from 1952 to 1980, using national election study data from open-ended likes/dislikes questions. The major trend which is found is a shift toward neutral evaluations of the parties. A reinterpretation of party decline in the electorate is offered, in which the much-discussed alienation from parties is largely rejected as an explanation. Rather, it is argued that the link between parties and candidates has been substantially weakened over the years and hence that political parties have become increasingly meaningless to the electorate.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 75 , Issue 4 , December 1981 , pp. 941 - 950
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1981

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