Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop

American democracy is at an impasse. After years of zero-sum partisan trench warfare, our political institutions are deteriorating. Our norms are collapsing. Democrats and Republicans no longer merely argue; they cut off contact with each other. In short, the two-party system is breaking our democracy, and driving us all crazy.

Deftly weaving together history, democratic theory, and cutting-edge political science research, Lee Drutman tells the story of how American politics became so toxic, 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. He argues that the only way out is to have more partisanship—more parties, to short-circuit the zero-sum nature of binary partisan conflict.

Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop makes a compelling case for large scale electoral reform—importantly, reform not requiring a constitutional amendment—that would give America more parties, making American democracy more representative, more responsive, and ultimately more stable.