The industrial revolution was the single most important development in human history over the past three centuries, and it continues to shape the contemporary world. With new methods and organizations for producing goods, industrialization altered where people live, how they play, and even how they define political issues. By exploring the ways the industrial revolution reshaped world history, this book offers a unique look into the international factors that started the industrial revolution and its global spread and impact.

1. Political Science and the Study of Parties: Sorting Out Interpretations of Party Response --Jeffrey M. Stonecash, Syracuse University 2. The Diminishing Oddness of American Political Parties --Nicol C. Rae, Florida International University 3. Attempting to Build a Winner: Parties and the Crafting of Electoral Coalitions --Mark D. Brewer, University of Maine 4. Party Activists, Ideological Extremism, and Party Polarization --Marjorie Randon Hershey, Nathaniel Birkhead, and Beth C. Easter, Indiana University 5. Local Party Viability, Goals, and Objectives in the Information Age --Daniel M. Shea, Allegheny College, J. Cherie Strachan, Central Michigan University, and Michael Wolf, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne 6. National Parties in the Twenty-First Century --Paul S. Herrnson, University of Maryland 7. Parties and the Presidential Nominating Contests: The Battles to Control the Nominating Calendar --Barbara Norrander, University of Arizona 8. Political Parties and Campaign Finance: Challenges and Adaptations --Diana Dwyre, California State University 9. Boehner's Dilemma: A Tempest in a Tea Party? --Walter J. Stone, University of California, Davis, L. Sandy Maisel, Colby College, and Trevor C. Lowman, University of California, Davis 10. Political Parties and the Media: The Parties Respond to Technological Innovation --Diana Owen, Georgetown University 11. Congressional Parties and the Policy Process --Sean Theriault and Jonathan Lewallen, University of Texas 12. Partisan Presidential Leadership: The President's Appointees --G. Calvin Mackenzie, Colby College 13. American Political Parties in the Age of Polarization --Alan I. Abramowitz, Emory University