Parties, politics, and public policy in America

Even in the face of competition from individual candidates, interest groups, and the mass media, American political parties have undergone a resurgence in recent years, surprising both scholars and pundits alike. It is this revitalization of the parties that authors Hetherington and Keefe explore and analyze, grappling with the question of why so many Americans today profess anti-party attitudes yet behave in party-centered ways. Firm landmarks on the political scene, parties continue to form the principal institution for popular control of government.