{"product_id":"no-middle-ground-seth-masket-9780472034673","title":"No Middle Ground: How Informal Party Organizations Control Nominations and Polarize Legislatures","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"This is a fascinating book. It is one of the best studies of the ways that parties and politics get conducted in any American state. Masket shows that legislators can be perfectly content without parties that control agendas and does a terrific job of explaining the transition from free-wheeling legislators to rigidly partisan voting blocs.\"\u003cbr\u003e--Sam Popkin, University of California at San Diego\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"No Middle Ground\u003c\/i\u003e makes a significant contribution to the study of American parties and legislative politics.\"\u003cbr\u003e--Matthew Green, Catholic University of America\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite concerns about the debilitating effects of partisanship on democratic government, in recent years political parties have gained strength in state governments as well as in Washington. In many cases these parties function as machines. Unlike machines of the past that manipulated votes, however, today's machines determine which candidates can credibly compete in a primary.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFocusing on the history and politics of California, Seth E. Masket reveals how these machines evolved and how they stay in power by directing money, endorsements, and expertise to favored candidates, who often tend toward the ideological extreme. In a provocative conclusion, Masket argues that politicians are not inherently partisan. Instead, partisanship is thrust upon them by actors outside the government with the power to manipulate primary elections.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Seth Masket\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0472034677\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780472034673\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Michigan Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/25\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.79lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.80d","brand":"Seth Masket","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43996761620735,"sku":"9780472034673","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_3ada2890-5c92-41c8-9352-162b85434610.jpg?v=1683343537","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/no-middle-ground-seth-masket-9780472034673","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}