Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy

by Alan I. Abramowitz

Renowned political scientist Alan I. Abramowitz presents a groundbreaking argument that the most important divide in American politics is not between left and right but rather between citizens who are politically engaged and those who are not. It is the engaged members of the public, he argues, who most closely reflect the ideals of democratic citizenship—but this is also the group that is most polarized. Polarization at the highest levels of government, therefore, is not a sign of elites’ disconnection from the public but rather of their responsiveness to the more politically engaged parts of it. Though polarization is often assumed to be detrimental to democracy, Abramowitz concludes that by presenting voters with clear choices, polarization can serve to increase the public’s interest and participation in politics and strengthen electoral accountability.

Genres: Politics, Political Science, Nonfiction, School

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2010

Reviews

[Brandon Robert Patton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid 4. It does well at explaining how we got to where we are. Pretty easy read, finished it in two days. Would recommend, just mind you it's over a decade outdated, just good to keep in mind.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his influential book about voting attitudes and electoral shifts, Dr. Alan Abramowitz explains the variables that have influenced a change in political ideology over the past six decades. Relying heavily on the American National Election Studies (ANES) to present his points, Dr. Abramowitz places the origin of hyperpartisanship back to the Nixon administration and illustrates how the issue has only grown since then. (The book was published in 2010 so it really focuses on the Nixon through the younger Bush administrations). Explanations for those shifts include differences in ANES definitions and questions, changes in social policy, amongst others.

One point I found particularly interesting, especially given the passage of Prop. 2 in Michigan in 2018, was how he purposefully said that attributing hyperpartisanship to gerrymandering (rather, “redistricting”) was not a sufficient answer to the issue. Instead, Dr. Abramowitz presented data that shows that, yes, safe Congressional districts have gone up (as has a more partisan House of Representatives), but these changes happened between redistricting cycles. Further, he states that the decrease in competition stems from “a combination of demographic change and party realignment” (Abramowitz, 2010, p. 147). Another interesting point he makes is that the decrease in moderate aligning voters could be that we want to see ourselves as “moderate”, whereas many of those self-identifying “moderates” actually have heavy ideological leanings.

Overall, this book is geared for intermediate knowledge in both statistics and political science. There are many graphs, tables, and figures throughout which provide ample evidence, almost too much, of Dr. Abramowitz’s thesis of the disappearance of moderate voters. While we as a society seem to be tired of the increased partisanship, we can only blame ourselves for where we are now.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I could not put down..It has lots of charts and details but it explains where we are politically in the USA today and how the development of ideologies and partisan views and the increase of education among our population has given us an electorate that is active, participating in activities beyond voting and very divided. White married Christians are the core of the Republican Party and do not budge for the most part. Liberal Republicans and Conservative Democrats, which were in abundance in my youth, have disappeared. It is a scary but true portrait of where we are.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reasonable explanation of the polarization we see in Washington.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some obvious bias in the way the author reads the charts (ex: reads 40-60 range and then 80-100, which entirely misses the 60-80/20-40 range). Good effort for a very difficult area, though.