The End of the Republican Era (Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lecture Series) [Paperback]

Theodore J. Lowi (Author)

Book Description

Series: Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lecture Series | Publication Date: September 15, 1996

In The End of the Republican Era, Theodore J. Lowi predicts not only a collapse of the Republican coalition but also the potential collapse of the United States’ republican experiment at large. Professing that the ideologies of dominant political coalitions contain the seeds of their own destruction, Lowi suggests that the efforts of a new conservative Right to enforce a national, religion-based morality has brought about the demise of the Republican era.

A new, in-depth afterword by Lowi brings the text up to date with a discussion of political events since the book’s original publication. Noting the appearance of the new Conservative coalition, whose ideology runs counter to that of the traditional Republican party, Lowi affirms that the Republican era did in fact come to an end during the 1990s, having morphed into a Conservative party.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Readers who have followed prolific Cornell University professor Lowi since the late 1960s, when his The End of Liberalism argued that the New Deal changed American institutions so significantly that the period since the '30s should be understood as a "Second Republic," will not be surprised to learn that--like the earlier book--The End of the Republican Era bears a deliberately ambiguous title. Lowi's subject is objectives as well as terminations, both the recent hegemony of the Grand Old Party and the tradition of republican government. Ideology lies at the center of Lowi's analysis. Carefully defining old and new varieties of liberalism, conservatism, and (less important in the U.S. context) "the left," he traces shifting alliances of these tendencies and analyzes the "tragic flaw" that led to the collapse of the New Deal Democratic coalition and the serious weakness that now may destroy either the fragile Republican coalition of Old Liberals and New Conservatives or the American republic itself. As usual, Lowi provides a smart, distinctly controversial analysis of politics past, present, and future. Mary Carroll --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Theodore J. Lowi is John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions at Cornell University, Ithaca. He is the author of a number of influential books, including The End of Liberalism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (September 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806128879
• ISBN-13: 978-0806128870
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,131,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Excellent Analysis, October 21, 2006

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R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The End of the Republican Era (Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lecture Series) (Paperback)

Published approximately a decade ago, this book by the distinguished political scientist Theodore Lowi is an insightful analysis of American politics during the era of conservative Republican predominance. In several respects, this is a sequel to Lowi's well known book, The End of Liberalism. The latter was a structural analysis of politics and government during the period roughly from the New Deal to the fall of Nixon. The End of the Republican Era aims to do the same for the period of Republican predominance that begins with Reagan. Lowi opens with a schematic summary of the structure of American politics and government up to the New Deal, and then offers a brief reprise of his analysis in The End of Liberalism. As in the latter book, Lowi describes liberalism as failing because of its own great success in expanding the role of government, especially the role of the professional adminisrators in the executive branch. This is followed by a superb, concise history and analysis of the development of the American conservative movement in the 20th century. These chapters alone are a good reason to read this book. Lowi then proceeds to define the essential structural features of the conservative coalition and Republican governance. Many of these features, for example the emphasis on Presidential power and the reliance on the military as a primary instrument of foreign policy, will be easily recognized in the present Bush II administration. Lowi goes on to predict that the fissiparous Republican coalition would choke on its own success as its evangelical (true conservatives in Lowi's classification) and business wings (19th century or Old Liberal in Lowi's classification) fall apart because of fundamental incompatibility. Lowi clearly expected this to occur by the end of the 1990s, though if Bush II had lost the 2000 election, who knows what would happened. On the other hand, it does appear that Lowi's prediction is now coming true.