Includes bibliographical references and index.

Political science an the study of parties : sorting out interpretations of party response / Jeffrey M. Stonecash -- The diminishing oddness of american political parties / Nicole C. Rae -- Attempting to build a winner: parties and the crafting of electoral coalitions / Mark D. Brewer -- Party activists, ideological extremism, and party polarization / Marjorie Randon Hershey and Beth C. Easter -- Local party viability, goals, and objectives in the information age / Daniel M. Shea, J. Cherie Strachan, and Michael Wolf -- National parties in the twenty-first century / Paul S. Hernson -- Parties and the presidential nominating contests : the battles to control the nominating calendar / Barbara Norrander -- Political parties and campaign finance : challenges and adaptations / Diana Dwyre -- Boehner's dilemma : a tempest in a tea party? / Walter J. Stone, L. Sandy Maisel, and Trevor C. Lowman -- Political parties and the media : the parties respond to technological innovation / Diana Owen -- Congressional parties and the policy process / Sean Theriault and Jonathan Lewallen -- Partisan presidential leadership : the president's appointees / G. Calvin Mackenzie -- American political parties in an age of polarization / Alan I. Abramowitz.

As a survey of the most current and significant issues affecting party politics in the United States, The Parties Respond has become a standard for reference and college course use. Mark Brewer and L. Sandy Maisel draw together leading scholars for thirteen original essays. The topics addressed include partisanship in the electorate, parties and the media revolution, the campaign and election process, and parties in government. The fifth edition is significantly revised with twelve new chapters, bringing each of these topics up to date for the modern political arena and highlighting the many changes in party politics over the past ten years.