Divergent Democracy makes important contributions to our understanding of the development of U.S. party politics. Basic features of the American party system may seem fixed—just two major parties have contested for power under the same names since the 1850s—but the fundamental bases of that competition have nevertheless shifted over time. Drawing on concepts imported from the study of comparative politics, Krimmel distinguishes between clientelistic parties that compete for support by providing selective rewards for supporters (e.g., public sector jobs, contracts, services) and programmatic parties that compete by presenting opposing stances on a range of national policy issues. Although U.S. parties have always offered alternatives (and slogans) on at least some national issues, they have not always aspired to present clearly articulated party platforms on a wide range of national issues and policies.

Even the idea that parties should compete on national issues has long been a point of intraparty debate. Scholars tend to view programmatic politics as a more “advanced” form of democracy, permitting voters to register their preferences on the policy alternatives presented to them. Historically, however, U.S. politicians often shied away from issue-based party competition, viewing the approach as needlessly divis