Politics and Linkage in a Democratic Society

ix, [1], 264 pp. This provocative volume provides a theoretical treatment of interests, factions, and parties, while examining how the changing dominant paradigms in political science have structured our understanding of party and interest-group politics. The authors offer a historical and analytic exploration of intermediation and social change in democratic society with an emphasis on the new nationalized party system and the changing ways in which political theorists understand and interpret the linkage between elites and the masses. Politics and Linkage in a Democratic Society considers the influence of third parties in party democracy and the progressive influence on weak and undemocratic parties. It details the provisions of party government and responsible party doctrine and examines the influence of the constitution on party politics. The authors also critique the tripartite model of parties, offering an integrated approach linking elites and masses in organizations and institutions. In addition, they analyze the influence of social movements such as the civil rights and women's movements on American party politics and their relationship to contemporary party reform.