ABSTRACT
In Chapter 2 , we described the decline and resurgence of political parties in the United States. But there is plenty of evidence to suggest that changing perceptions of political parties are not a uniquely American phenomenon. In some industrialized democracies across the globe, there is evidence that factors such as increasing education, proliferation of media, and the emergence of new issues have contributed to a decline of partisan salience. On the other hand, there are also some indications that, in recent years, parties have become more relevant. In this chapter, we explore party decline, resurgence, and polarization in a comparative context in order to highlight both the similarities and the differences between the American experience and that of other democracies.
