Bringing Together Spatial Demography and Political Science: Reexamining the Big Sort

Abstract

In this chapter we examine the arguments in Bishop’s The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing us Apart from the perspective of a stronger synthesis between demographers and political scientists. We argue that such a synthesis can provide considerable insights into the question of the geographic sorting of partisans. After examining critiques leveled by political scientists against the analyses in The Big Sort, we examine the quite limited consideration of migration studies in Bishop’s book. Here, we identify four central limitations in the book that are produced by this inattention to migration studies. We conclude by examining the opportunity that The Big Sort and its arguments provide for the movement away from research silos and toward greater interdisciplinary research on migration-induced political polarization. Ironically, if Bishop is correct that “the clustering of like-minded Americans is tearing us apart,” the clustering of like-minded scholars – demographers and political scientists engaging in a closer, more fruitful dialogue – may provide us with insights that can help remedy any negative effects of geographic polarization.