This book investigates the evolving relationship between political parties and the electorate in advanced industrial democracies, specifically questioning whether parties remain effective vehicles for representation in an era of declining partisan attachment. Authors Martin P. Wattenberg and Russell J. Dalton utilize extensive comparative data from twenty OECD nations to evaluate the functional health of party systems. They argue that while parties maintain their structural utility in government and election management, a significant shift in public sentiment toward non-partisanship threatens the traditional foundations of representative democracy. The text provides a framework for understanding how institutional persistence clashes with changing social attitudes as these nations navigate the 21st century.

Experts frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the erosion of traditional party loyalties in modern democracies. Readers often note the clarity of the comparative methodology, which makes complex political trends accessible to both students and scholars of political science.