Realignments of the Twenty-first Century: A Review of Polarized by Degrees , by Matt Grossmann and Daniel Hopkins

Abstract Matthew Grossmann and Daniel Hopkins have provided a valuable disciplinary service by creating the theory of an “educultural” realignment—one that has already taken place in the early twenty-first century. While this book should be on the shelf of anyone interested in where American politics has been and where it is going, it raises a number of questions about the future. Where will this lead? Will the pattern among white voters extend to other groups? Will America remain on a track of expanding cultural liberalism? Does this mean that economic factors are simply less important in elections? Although the future remains an undiscovered country (and, therefore, this essay provides no firm answers), there are reasons to wonder about the future of realignments in America. They are not unfolding in the way they have in the past, and our discipline needs better theoretical tools to see what is happening around us.