Book · 2025 · Political Science
The Hollow Parties
The Many Pasts and Disordered Present of American Party Politics
Why people recommend it
The Hollow Parties by Daniel Schlozman and Sam Rosenfeld explores the transformation and institutional decay of American political parties. Ezra Klein discussed the book on The Ezra Klein Show in June 2024, noting that the authors document how the powerful parties of the past evolved into hollowed-out mechanisms primarily serving individual presidential ambitions. Klein also brought up the text in a separate episode with the authors while examining the politics of the new right, specifically how the faction that ultimately took over the Republican Party operated around conflict rather than traditional ideology. By tracing these historical shifts, the authors provide essential context for understanding contemporary political polarization and the fragility of modern party structures. Listeners interested in the mechanics of political organization and the decline of grassroots engagement will find this work to be a vital examination of how American democracy reached its current juncture. The analysis sheds light on why political institutions struggle to manage internal dissent and external pressures alike, making it a frequent point of reference for commentators analyzing the current landscape of United States politics and elections today.
Who recommended it
- Ezra Klein Discussed
Ezra Klein — 2 mentions
“in the great book The Hollow parties Sam Rosenfeld and Danel schlossman tell the history of how the strong parties of yesterday became the hollowed out vehicles for individual presidential ambition we see today”
“Daniel in your book is your association with the politics of the new right the right that ultimately does take over the Republican party as a politics built around conflict not a politics built around ideology”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- An American Melodrama. The Presidential Campaign of 1968. Lewis Chester, Godfrey Hodgson, Bruce Page. (1. Publ.)
- How Democracies Die
- Rainbow's End
- The Two Faces of American Freedom
- Up from Liberalism
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“it's a story that the political scientists Daniel SCH slman and Sam Rosenfeld telling their new book The Hollow parties the many past and disordered present of American Party politics”