Sidney M. Milkis is the White Burkett Miller Professor in the Department of Politics and a Faculty Fellow at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia.

Most Americans see the divisiveness of contemporary politics as a problem. Taking the long view of American history, this lecture will explore how the decline in the influence of political parties has permitted the rise of populist movements and extreme polarization in our politics. It will suggest how political parties might be revitalized as a moderating influence in American democracy.

Milkis has a B.A. from Muhlenberg College and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. His books include: Presidential Greatness (2000), coauthored with Marc Landy; The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776-2021 (2022), 9th edition, coauthored with Michael Nelson; and, most recently, What Happened to the Vital Center: Presidentialism, Populist Revolt, and the Fracturing of America (2022), coauthored with Nicholas Jacobs. His articles on American government and political history have appeared in Perspectives on Politics, Political Science Quarterly, Studies in American Political Development, PS: Political Science and Politics, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Journal of Supreme Court History, and American Political Thought.

This public lecture is sponsored by UNO's Constitutional Studies Forum, with support by a grant from the Jack Miller Center.

Constitution Week

This event is part of Constitution Week (Sept. 17-23) — a week observed across the country annually as an opportunity for citizens to acknowledge, reflect, and examine one of the founding documents of the United States. View the full Constitution Week event schedule.