More than Red and Blue: Political Parties and American Democracy – Protect Democracy

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Recognizing the serious risk of democratic backsliding in the United States, the American Political Science Association (APSA) and Protect Democracy partnered to sponsor the APSA Presidential Task Force on Political Parties. The Task Force’s report, More than Red and Blue: Political Parties and American Democracy, presents what political science says about the functions of political parties, how we came to have the parties we have, and where sources of change exist.
The Task Force’s report identifies the characteristics of political parties that make them a vulnerability to American democracy and also the critical roles political parties should be playing to help strengthen our democracy. Despite the overwhelmingly low confidence of Americans in political parties, political science shows we need to reform political parties rather than sideline them.
There is substantial skepticism of political parties in the United States, a feature of our political culture dating to the founding. Yet research on democracies around the world yields the consistent finding that political parties are an essential feature of nearly all large democracies.
Historically, political parties helped connect coalitions and interests, mobilize voters, negotiate compromises, and restrain the worst and most dangerous impulses of individual politicians. Today’s weakened political parties are making many of the country’s central political problems worse because of their failure to fulfill their critical roles and pursuit of uncontrolled partisanship. 
Read: Political parties should be fixed, not sidelined Read: Political parties should be fixed, not sidelined
Key insights from the report include:
In addition to diagnosing some of the systemic problems producing the current state of parties and partisanship, More than Red and Blue offers a framework grounded in research for strengthening our democracy. The report also challenges popular anti-party sentiment and provides a fundamental starting point from which we can strengthen all American political parties’ footing in democracy for a better future and begin to develop practical reforms for the betterment of our country.
Motivated by a profound concern with the state of democracy in the United States and the world and the role political parties have played in undermining democracy, rather than strengthening it, APSA and Protect Democracy partnered to create this Task Force of leading American scholars on political parties and partisanship. The research of the Task Force sought to address four critical questions:
The ultimate purpose of this Task Force is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which political parties can be responsible promoters of democracy, to prevent a decline into a more authoritarian form of government. The Task Force will achieve this goal by highlighting insights rooted in the academic literature that can inform policy development and strategy.
American Political Science Association President, 2021-2022
John Ishiyama, University of North Texas
Task Force Co-Chairs
David Lublin, American University
Lilliana Mason, Johns Hopkins University
Task Force Members
Keneshia Grant, Howard University
Jake Grumbach, University of Washington
Zoltan Hajnal, University of California San Diego
Seth Masket, University of Denver
Hans Noel, Georgetown University
Benjamin Reilly, East-West Center
Rachel Beatty Riedl, Cornell University
Susan E. Scarrow, University of Houston
Matthew Shugart, University of California Davis
Katherine Tate, Brown University
Christina Wolbrecht, University of Notre Dame
Founded in 1903, the American Political Science Association (APSA) is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 11,000 members in more than 100 countries. With a range of programs and services for individuals, departments, and institutions, APSA brings together political scientists from all fields of inquiry, regions, and occupational endeavors within and outside academe to deepen our understanding of politics, democracy, and citizenship throughout the world. The Association promotes a lively, diverse community of scholars, teachers, students, and practitioners who bring wide-ranging interests, methodologies, and perspectives to the analysis and conduct of government and politics.
Learn more about APSA Learn more about APSA
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