Party Polarization in Congress

This book examines how Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have become polarized since the early 1970s.

Sean M. Theriault (Author)

9780521888936, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 18 August 2008

256 pages, 17 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.45 kg

“In Party Polarization in Congress, Sean Theriault excellently presents and tests some of the main explanations for why polarization has occurred recently in Congress…Party Polarization in Congress is an excellent addition to the literature on how parties within Congress have changed over time. As Theriault helpfully demonstrates, it is not necessary to think of each of the explanations of polarization as competing with one another. In fact, as Theriault does here, it is likely more helpful to include each of the explanations into one coherent model that gives researchers more insight into how the polarization process in Congress has occurred.”
-Walt Jatkowski III, Carl Albert Center Fellow, University of Oklahoma, APSA Legislative Studies Section Newsletter, Book Notes

The political parties in Congress are as polarized as they have been in 100 years. This book examines more than 30 years of congressional history to understand how it is that the Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have become so divided. It finds that two steps were critical for this development. First, the respective parties' constituencies became more politically and ideologically aligned. Second, members ceded more power to their party leaders, who implemented procedures more frequently and with greater consequence. In fact, almost the entire rise in party polarization can be accounted for in the increasing frequency of and polarization on procedures used during the legislative process.

1. Party polarization in the US Congress
Part I. Building Blocks for Explaining Party Polarization: 2. A brief history of party polarization
3. Explanations for party polarization
Part II. Constituency Change: 4. Redistricting
5. The political and geographic sorting of constituents
6. Extremisms of party activists
Part III. Institutional Change: 7. Connecting constituency change to institutional change
8. The interaction in the legislative process
9. The link between the House and Senate
10. Procedural polarization in the US Congress.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], History of the Americas [HBJK]