미국 보수주의의 재편과 정당정치

Re-establishment of US Conservatives and Party Politics: Goldwater Conservatism and Conservatization of the Republican Party

This paper attempts to examine how recent party polarization, arguably one of main characteristics in contemporary American politics, started in the history of political party in the US. It claims that recent party polarization has been based on the contrasting position on the role of federal government and it was the consequences of the conservatives' efforts to refute "New Deal Consensus." Specifically, the conservatives succeeded in re-establishing the coalition of conservative political groups, divided into three different groups of anti-communists, libertarians, and traditionalists in 1960s. The arguments and findings of this paper inform us important lessons to understand the party politics. The resurgence of conservatism in the US could be accomplished through the linkage with political party. The conservatives' efforts in 1960s got the Republican party to be a competent rival to the Democratic party, then leading to intensive party polarization. However, the conservatives' efforts gave the Republican party with a difficult dilemma to overcome because its resurgence could be made by bringing together two heterogenous groups, libertarians and social conservatives. Since its resurgence, the success of the Republican party has depended upon how it manages to gather two sub-groups together.