This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on Oxford Academic and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Across Europe, people are deeply concerned about the state of democracy. The Rise and Fall of the People's Parties shifts the attention away from ever-changing populist politicians that capture newspaper headlines to the centre-left and centre-right people's parties that used to buttress the democratic order over the past decades, but which are now in steep decline. Why does the crisis of these parties contribute so profoundly to today's crisis of democracy? And why were these parties so important for the stabilization and legitimation of democracy in the past century in the first place? By providing a long-term and transnational account of the history of democracy in modern Europe, The Rise and Fall of the People's Parties reveals the striking parallels between the history of democracy and the history of the people's parties since 1918. The first part of the book shows how the failure to turn traditional working-class and confessional mass parties into people's parties played a vital role in the collapse of democracy in the 1920s and 1930s. It also explores the attractiveness of the people's party ideal centred on moderation, compromise and openness to pioneering politicians in the mid-century. The second part of the book then traces the practical application and breakthrough of this ideal in the decades after World War II and shows how this contributed to the stabilization and legitimation of democracy in the postwar decades. In the final part of the book, Corduwener turns to the slow decline of the people's parties since the mid-1970s. It explores how their failure to represent volatile and polarized societies was reflected in their aim to turn into 'open' and 'flexible' parties focused primarily on providing governmental efficiency - and how this eventually turned against them by alienating their members and voters. In so doing, Corduwener offers an original and timely study of twentieth century democracy that transcends traditional party groupings, divisions between eras, and national boundaries. The book will be important reading for all historians of European democracy, as well as journalists, policymakers and practitioners interested in the current state of democracy in and outside the region today.

Populist Revolt was first published in 1931. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. When The Populist Revolt was originally published, the New York Times critic called it "far and away the best account of populism that we have—and one not likely to be replaced." That prophecy proved right; the book has not been replaced, and historians and critics agree that it is the definitive work on its subject. Now it is made available once more, after being out of print for some time. This is a history of the Farmers' Alliance and the People's Party, under whose banners a great crusade for farm relief was waged in the 1880's and 1890's. As important as the chronicle of the political movement itself is the detailed picture which Professor Hicks gives of the conditions which set the stage for this agrarian revolt. He describes the inequities and malpractices which beset both the new settlers of the West and the poverty-ridden whites and Negroes of the South following the Civil War. The story of Populism itself is a lively one, people with such picturesque leaders as "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman of South Carolina, "Sockless" Jerry Simpson and Mary Elizabeth Lease—the "Patrick Henry in petticoats"—of Kansas, "Bloody Bridles" Waite of Colorado, Thomas E. Watson of Georgia, Dr. C. W. Macune of Texas, James B. Weaver of Iowa, and Ignatius Donnelly of Minnesota. In these pages, Professor Hicks has, as Frederic L. Paxson pointed out, "presented the case for Populism better than the Populists themselves could do it." Henry Steele Commanger calls the book a "thorough, scholarly, sympathetic and spirited history of the entire Populist movement."

Peffer's memoir describes the development of Populism, the political maneuverings and campaign practices of the People's Party, the effect of the famous silver movement on the critical election of 1896, and the behind-the-scenes conflict that ultimately led to the dissolution of America's last great third party.

"The years since the financial crisis have been marked by a remarkable stability in national government which hides the impact of a new kind of issue based politics which has arisen with parties such as Podemos in Spain, Srizia in Greece, The National Front in France and UKiP in the UK, all of whom have had a significant influence in shaping the political agenda in their own countries even if they have not actually secured formal power. This is the first book to present a rigorous yet accessible analysis of this phenomenon, grounded in the theories and methods of quantitative political science but drawing on empirical insights and theory from political psychology and sociology as well to try to understand the similarities and differences in the circumstances that have lead to these parties springing up and shaping political discourse and even policy to an extent that has challenged the very existence of the traditional party system"--

Rarely has a third political party in the United States exerted a force upon national events comparable to that of the Populists during the 1890s. This force reached its climax in the presidential race of 1896, when the national reforms epitomized in the cry for free silver were at issue. Yet despite a number of recent studies, confusion and error regarding the Populists in the crucial election of 1896 still persist. Robert F. Durden, by extensive use of the papers of Marion Butler, Populist senator from North Carolina and national chairman of the party during the campaign, sheds new light upon many points—the conduct of the St. Louis convention, the role of Tom Watson, and the fusion strategy. Durden's work is not only valuable for its clarification of the Populist campaign, but also for the example it offers of the practical working of American politics with the baffling balances among regions and groups.

How the Chinese Communist Party maintains its power by both repressing and responding to its people Since 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has maintained unrivaled control over the country, persisting even in the face of economic calamity, widespread social upheaval, and violence against its own people. Yet the party does not sustain dominance through repressive tactics alone—it pairs this with surprising responsiveness to the public. The Party and the People explores how this paradox has helped the CCP endure for decades, and how this balance has shifted increasingly toward repression under the rule of President Xi Jinping. Delving into the tenuous binary of repression and responsivity, Bruce Dickson illuminates numerous questions surrounding the CCP’s rule: How does it choose leaders and create policies? When does it allow protests? Will China become democratic? Dickson shows that the party’s dual approach lies at the core of its practices—repression when dealing with existential, political threats or challenges to its authority, and responsiveness when confronting localized economic or social unrest. The state answers favorably to the demands of protesters on certain issues, such as local environmental hazards and healthcare, but deals harshly with others, such as protests in Tibet, Xinjiang, or Hong Kong. With the CCP’s greater reliance on suppression since Xi Jinping’s rise to power in 2012, Dickson considers the ways that this tipping of the scales will influence China’s future. Bringing together a vast body of sources, The Party and the People sheds new light on how the relationship between the Chinese state and its citizens shapes governance.