Breaking the two-party doom loop: the case for multiparty democracy in America

American democracy is in deep crisis. But what do we do about it? That depends on how we understand what the crisis actually is. In 'Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop', Lee Drutman argues that we now have, for the first time in American history, a true two-party system, with two disciplined, national parties. And it's a disaster. It's driving us apart instead of bringing us together. And it's fundamentally at odds with our anti-majoritarian, compromise-oriented governing institutions. The conflict is unsustainable. Deftly weaving together history, democratic theory, and cutting edge political science research, Drutman tells the story of how American politics became so toxic, and why the country is trapped in a doom loop of escalating two-party warfare, and why it is destroying the shared sense of fairness and legitimacy on which democracy depends.

American democracy is in crisis, but nobody seems to know what to do about it. Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop offers a big and bold plan. The true crisis of American democracy is that two parties are too few. Deftly weaving together history, theory and political science research, Drutman shows the only to break the binary, zero-sum toxic partisanship is to break it apart. America needs more partisanship, rather than less, but in the form of more parties. In this wide-ranging, learned, but highly accessible book, Drutman charts an exciting path forward that might just save the country.

What the Framers got right and what they got wrong -- The paradox of partisanship -- The great re-ordering of the parties : from too similar to too different -- The collapse of the four-party system and the rise of zero-sum politics -- The new era of toxic politics (genuine two-party democracy turns out to be a disaster) -- All politics is identity politics. not all identity politics is toxic -- The breakdown of political fairness -- Designing a new American electoral system -- Two few : the case for multiparty democracy in america -- The politics of electoral reform -- The future of American democracy.