Editing Political realignment (section)

==Realignment theory==
The central holding of realignment theory, first developed in the political scientist [[V. O. Key Jr.]]'s 1955 article, "A Theory of Critical Elections", is that American elections, parties and policymaking routinely shift in swift, dramatic sweeps as well as slow, gradual movements. 

[[V. O. Key Jr.]], [[Elmer Eric Schattschneider|E. E. Schattschneider]], James L. Sundquist, [[Walter Dean Burnham]] are generally credited with developing and refining the theory of realignment.<ref>Shafer (1991); Rosenof (2003)</ref> Though they differed on some of the details, earlier realignments scholars generally concluded that systematic patterns are identifiable in American national elections. Such that cycles occur on a regular schedule: once every 36-years or so. This period of roughly 30 years fits with the notion that these cycles are closely linked to generational change. However later scholars, such as Shafer and Reichley, argue that the patterns are longer, closer to 50 to 60 years in duration. Pointing to the Democratic dominance from 1800 to 1860, and Republican rule from 1860 to 1932 as examples, Reichley argues that the only true realigning elections occurred in these 60 year periods.<ref name=Reichley>{{cite book|last1=Reichley|first1=A. James|title=The Life of the Parties|date=2000|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|pages=8–12|edition=Paperback}}</ref> Given the much longer length of time since the last generally accepted realignment in 1932, more recent scholars have theorized that realignments don't in fact operate on any consistent time scale, but rather occur whenever the necessary political, social, and economic changes occur.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Next Realignment: Why America's Parties are Crumbling and What Happens Next|last=DiStefano|first=Frank J.|publisher=Prometheus Books|year=2019|isbn=9781633885097|location=Amherst, NY|pages=17–18}}</ref>

===Voter realignments===
A central component of realignment is the change in behavior of voting groups. Realignment within the context of voting relates to the switching of voter preferences from one party to another. This is in contrast to [[dealignment]] where a voter group abandons a party due to voter apathy or to become independent. In the US and Australia, as the ideologies of the parties define many of the aspects of voters' lives and the decisions that they make, a realignment by a voter tends to have a longer-lasting effect.<ref>{{cite book|author1=George Reid Andrews|author2=Herrick Chapman|title=The Social Construction of Democracy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0uQ8DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA280|year=1997|publisher=NYU Press|page=280|isbn=9780814715062}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Rodney Smith|author2=Ariadne Vromen|author3=Ian Cook|title=Contemporary Politics in Australia: Theories, Practices and Issues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szc-c7hVoOAC&pg=PA137|year=2012|publisher=Cambridge UP|page=137|isbn=9780521137539}}</ref>

In Britain, Canada, and other countries the phenomenon of political realignment is not as drastic. Due to the multi-party system, voters have a tendency to switch parties on a whim, perhaps only for one election, as there is far less loyalty towards one particular party.<ref>{{cite book|author=C. Paton|title=World, Class, Britain: Political Economy, Political Theory and British Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wdWHDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|year=2000|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|page=41|isbn=9780333981665}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=R. Kenneth Carty|author2=William Cross|author3=Lisa Young|title=Rebuilding Canadian Party Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XwtAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA20|year=2007|publisher=UBC Press|page=20|isbn=9780774859967}}</ref>