R E Best
Biographic Data
| ID | 305805 |
|---|---|
| NAME | R E Best |
| GIVEN NAMES | R E |
| FAMILY NAME | Best |
| SIGNATURE | BEST R E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Binghamton University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6297-348X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 204 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1975 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Are leftist or rightist voters better substantively represented? The effects of variance in district magnitude on party-voter ideological congruence
On the relationship between party polarization and citizen polarization
Do party policy offerings simply reflect public opinion or do parties shape public demand for policies? Theories of party position-taking and the operation of democracy expect parties to track their supporters’ positions, while scholarship of public opinion has shown voters often adopt the position of their preferred parties. We apply both of these theoretical expectations to the relationship between citizen polarization and party polarization an…
Do Redistricting Commissions Avoid Partisan Gerrymanders
As attempts to combat partisan gerrymandering transition from proposals to the Supreme Court to state-based districting commissions, it is time to ask two questions. First, how well did commissions in the 2010 round of redistricting perform as neutral decision makers? We answer that question with applications to each of the three independent commissions (AZ, CA, and WA) and four other commission forms (IA, NJ, NY, and VA) in place for post-2010. …
How do voters perceive ideological congruence? The effects of winning and losing under different electoral rules
Detecting Florida's Gerrymander: A Lesson in Putting First Things First
Objective We show that Florida's post‐2010 congressional districts were an ex ante knowable gerrymander, which, if diagnosed as a factual matter before enactment, would have avoided both the 2012 and 2014 harm and the state's unnecessarily burdensome reliance on a showing of intent. Method We recount the legal focus on intent, apply the McDonald‐Best equal vote weight effects test standard to the Florida facts, and use more than 25,000 simulated …
Do Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in the Legislature Affect Representation in Government? A Cross-National Analysis
The presence of right-wing populist parties in legislatures has the potential to change the calculus of government formation. I examine the effects of right-wing populist parties on four characteristics of governments in 14 Western democracies: (1) government size; (2) government fragmentation; (3) ideological dispersion/polarisation; and (4) ideological congruence between governments and legislatures. The findings suggest that right-wing populis…
Can Gerrymanders Be Detected? An Examination of Wisconsin’s State Assembly
In October 2017, the Supreme Court heard an appeal of a November 2016 ruling striking down Wisconsin’s State Assembly districts as a Republican gerrymander that illegally dilutes the weight of Democratic votes. We take the opportunity to revisit this litigation to evaluate three proposed methods of detecting gerrymanders: the “efficiency gap,” a count of Assembly districts carried by statewide candidates, and the difference between the district-l…
Jettisoning Illusions About the Median Mandate
We endorse G. Bingham Powell's cautionary corrective to challenge Paul Warwick's conclusions that the median mandate thesis needs to be jettisoned because there is not a close match between median voter and government left‐right positions. More to the point, however, we go beyond Powell's mild caution to challenge Warwick's rejection more assertively and thoroughly. We show his rejection mistakes responsiveness for congruence, misapprehends how a…
The perils and pitfalls of ignoring disproportionality's behavioral components
How Party System Fragmentation has Altered Political Opposition in Established Democracies
This article examines the consequences of increased party system fragmentation for oppositions, their respective governments and representation more generally, focusing on 18 established democracies. Two of the findings presented here suggest that there is reason to be concerned about the future of parliamentary representation in established democracies. Firstly, an increasing proportion of votes now go to parties that do not receive a proportion…
Representation as a median mandate: Taking cross‐national differences seriously
The extent and ways in which popular preferences influence government policy are absolutely central to our understanding of modern democracy. Paul Warwick's discussion of these in theEuropean Journal of Political Researchin 2010 puts itself at the heart of the debate with its critique of the median mandate theory of McDonald and Budge, proposing an alternative ‘bilateralist’ concept of representation. This article questions whether this concept h…
The long and the short of it: Electoral institutions and the dynamics of party system size, 1950–2005
While institutional theories of party system size are usually examined cross‐nationally, there is ample reason to expect that changes in electoral institutions will affect party system size within countries as well. Although some of this effect may occur immediately, most of the effects are likely to be realised over time and across subsequent elections. A series of error‐correction models examine the short‐ and long‐term effects of changes in el…
Electoral Majorities, Political Parties, and Collective Representation
In practice, democracies privilege plurality parties. Theories of the democratic process challenge the democratic credentials of this practice. Abstract social choice theory wonders whether an electoral majority even exists. A more optimistic line of argument, prominent in research on collective representation, assumes that the policy position of the median voter embodies the majority electoral preference. The conflict between what democracies ac…
Electoral volatility, competition and third-party candidacies in US gubernatorial elections
Third-party participation in plurality elections should be rare, given the low probability of electoral success. In the United States, the entrenched two-party system makes third-party candidacies especially puzzling. We develop a general theory of these candidacies based on the electoral context, focusing on electoral competition and volatility. When electoral competition is either low or high we expect the number of third-party candidates to be…
The declining electoral relevance of traditional cleavage groups
This article examines changes in the electoral relevance of traditional social cleavage groups in eight West European democracies, where electoral relevance is defined as group contributions to party vote shares. The approach presented here demonstrates the critical importance of both the electoral behaviour and the size of the cleavage group when electoral outcomes are of interest. The findings from analyses of the behaviour and size of working …
Increasing irrationality? The equilibrium relationship between electoral and legislative party system size, 1950-2005
Equilibria and Restoring Forces in Models of Vote Dynamics
Theories of voting tell us that party vote dynamics have two core components, long-run equilibria and more or less rapid returns to equilibria after short-run deviations. Statistical models used to represent these theories, however, tend to emphasize one component or the other. The unbalanced emphasis leaves the theoretical ideas underspecified and produces biased estimates of both long- and short-run components of vote dynamics. We specify the t…
Pastoral Care: Reflections on a research strategy
On Phenomenology and 'Phenomenological' Sociology. A Reply to Edward G. Armstrong
Pastoral Care: Concept and Process
Pastoral care: Concept and process
New Directions in Sociological Theory? A Critical Note on Phenomenological Sociology and Its Antecedents
The declining electoral relevance of traditional cleavage groups
This article examines changes in the electoral relevance of traditional social cleavage groups in eight West European democracies, where electoral relevance is defined as group contributions to party vote shares. The approach presented here demonstrates the critical importance of both the electoral behaviour and the size of the cleavage group when electoral outcomes are of interest. The findings from analyses of the behaviour and size of working …
How Party System Fragmentation has Altered Political Opposition in Established Democracies
This article examines the consequences of increased party system fragmentation for oppositions, their respective governments and representation more generally, focusing on 18 established democracies. Two of the findings presented here suggest that there is reason to be concerned about the future of parliamentary representation in established democracies. Firstly, an increasing proportion of votes now go to parties that do not receive a proportion…
Representation as a median mandate: Taking cross‐national differences seriously
The extent and ways in which popular preferences influence government policy are absolutely central to our understanding of modern democracy. Paul Warwick's discussion of these in theEuropean Journal of Political Researchin 2010 puts itself at the heart of the debate with its critique of the median mandate theory of McDonald and Budge, proposing an alternative ‘bilateralist’ concept of representation. This article questions whether this concept h…
On the relationship between party polarization and citizen polarization
Do party policy offerings simply reflect public opinion or do parties shape public demand for policies? Theories of party position-taking and the operation of democracy expect parties to track their supporters’ positions, while scholarship of public opinion has shown voters often adopt the position of their preferred parties. We apply both of these theoretical expectations to the relationship between citizen polarization and party polarization an…
Increasing irrationality? The equilibrium relationship between electoral and legislative party system size, 1950-2005
How do voters perceive ideological congruence? The effects of winning and losing under different electoral rules
The long and the short of it: Electoral institutions and the dynamics of party system size, 1950–2005
While institutional theories of party system size are usually examined cross‐nationally, there is ample reason to expect that changes in electoral institutions will affect party system size within countries as well. Although some of this effect may occur immediately, most of the effects are likely to be realised over time and across subsequent elections. A series of error‐correction models examine the short‐ and long‐term effects of changes in el…
Electoral Majorities, Political Parties, and Collective Representation
In practice, democracies privilege plurality parties. Theories of the democratic process challenge the democratic credentials of this practice. Abstract social choice theory wonders whether an electoral majority even exists. A more optimistic line of argument, prominent in research on collective representation, assumes that the policy position of the median voter embodies the majority electoral preference. The conflict between what democracies ac…
Equilibria and Restoring Forces in Models of Vote Dynamics
Theories of voting tell us that party vote dynamics have two core components, long-run equilibria and more or less rapid returns to equilibria after short-run deviations. Statistical models used to represent these theories, however, tend to emphasize one component or the other. The unbalanced emphasis leaves the theoretical ideas underspecified and produces biased estimates of both long- and short-run components of vote dynamics. We specify the t…
New Directions in Sociological Theory? A Critical Note on Phenomenological Sociology and Its Antecedents
Can Gerrymanders Be Detected? An Examination of Wisconsin’s State Assembly
In October 2017, the Supreme Court heard an appeal of a November 2016 ruling striking down Wisconsin’s State Assembly districts as a Republican gerrymander that illegally dilutes the weight of Democratic votes. We take the opportunity to revisit this litigation to evaluate three proposed methods of detecting gerrymanders: the “efficiency gap,” a count of Assembly districts carried by statewide candidates, and the difference between the district-l…
The perils and pitfalls of ignoring disproportionality's behavioral components
Are leftist or rightist voters better substantively represented? The effects of variance in district magnitude on party-voter ideological congruence
Do Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in the Legislature Affect Representation in Government? A Cross-National Analysis
The presence of right-wing populist parties in legislatures has the potential to change the calculus of government formation. I examine the effects of right-wing populist parties on four characteristics of governments in 14 Western democracies: (1) government size; (2) government fragmentation; (3) ideological dispersion/polarisation; and (4) ideological congruence between governments and legislatures. The findings suggest that right-wing populis…
Jettisoning Illusions About the Median Mandate
We endorse G. Bingham Powell's cautionary corrective to challenge Paul Warwick's conclusions that the median mandate thesis needs to be jettisoned because there is not a close match between median voter and government left‐right positions. More to the point, however, we go beyond Powell's mild caution to challenge Warwick's rejection more assertively and thoroughly. We show his rejection mistakes responsiveness for congruence, misapprehends how a…
Do Redistricting Commissions Avoid Partisan Gerrymanders
As attempts to combat partisan gerrymandering transition from proposals to the Supreme Court to state-based districting commissions, it is time to ask two questions. First, how well did commissions in the 2010 round of redistricting perform as neutral decision makers? We answer that question with applications to each of the three independent commissions (AZ, CA, and WA) and four other commission forms (IA, NJ, NY, and VA) in place for post-2010. …
Detecting Florida's Gerrymander: A Lesson in Putting First Things First
Objective We show that Florida's post‐2010 congressional districts were an ex ante knowable gerrymander, which, if diagnosed as a factual matter before enactment, would have avoided both the 2012 and 2014 harm and the state's unnecessarily burdensome reliance on a showing of intent. Method We recount the legal focus on intent, apply the McDonald‐Best equal vote weight effects test standard to the Florida facts, and use more than 25,000 simulated …
Electoral volatility, competition and third-party candidacies in US gubernatorial elections
Third-party participation in plurality elections should be rare, given the low probability of electoral success. In the United States, the entrenched two-party system makes third-party candidacies especially puzzling. We develop a general theory of these candidacies based on the electoral context, focusing on electoral competition and volatility. When electoral competition is either low or high we expect the number of third-party candidates to be…
On Phenomenology and 'Phenomenological' Sociology. A Reply to Edward G. Armstrong
New Directions in Sociological Theory? A Critical Note on Phenomenological Sociology and Its Antecedents
Pastoral Care: Concept and Process
Pastoral care: Concept and process
On Phenomenology and 'Phenomenological' Sociology. A Reply to Edward G. Armstrong
Pastoral Care: Reflections on a research strategy
Equilibria and Restoring Forces in Models of Vote Dynamics
Theories of voting tell us that party vote dynamics have two core components, long-run equilibria and more or less rapid returns to equilibria after short-run deviations. Statistical models used to represent these theories, however, tend to emphasize one component or the other. The unbalanced emphasis leaves the theoretical ideas underspecified and produces biased estimates of both long- and short-run components of vote dynamics. We specify the t…
Increasing irrationality? The equilibrium relationship between electoral and legislative party system size, 1950-2005
Electoral volatility, competition and third-party candidacies in US gubernatorial elections
Third-party participation in plurality elections should be rare, given the low probability of electoral success. In the United States, the entrenched two-party system makes third-party candidacies especially puzzling. We develop a general theory of these candidacies based on the electoral context, focusing on electoral competition and volatility. When electoral competition is either low or high we expect the number of third-party candidates to be…
The declining electoral relevance of traditional cleavage groups
This article examines changes in the electoral relevance of traditional social cleavage groups in eight West European democracies, where electoral relevance is defined as group contributions to party vote shares. The approach presented here demonstrates the critical importance of both the electoral behaviour and the size of the cleavage group when electoral outcomes are of interest. The findings from analyses of the behaviour and size of working …
Representation as a median mandate: Taking cross‐national differences seriously
The extent and ways in which popular preferences influence government policy are absolutely central to our understanding of modern democracy. Paul Warwick's discussion of these in theEuropean Journal of Political Researchin 2010 puts itself at the heart of the debate with its critique of the median mandate theory of McDonald and Budge, proposing an alternative ‘bilateralist’ concept of representation. This article questions whether this concept h…
The long and the short of it: Electoral institutions and the dynamics of party system size, 1950–2005
While institutional theories of party system size are usually examined cross‐nationally, there is ample reason to expect that changes in electoral institutions will affect party system size within countries as well. Although some of this effect may occur immediately, most of the effects are likely to be realised over time and across subsequent elections. A series of error‐correction models examine the short‐ and long‐term effects of changes in el…
Electoral Majorities, Political Parties, and Collective Representation
In practice, democracies privilege plurality parties. Theories of the democratic process challenge the democratic credentials of this practice. Abstract social choice theory wonders whether an electoral majority even exists. A more optimistic line of argument, prominent in research on collective representation, assumes that the policy position of the median voter embodies the majority electoral preference. The conflict between what democracies ac…
How Party System Fragmentation has Altered Political Opposition in Established Democracies
This article examines the consequences of increased party system fragmentation for oppositions, their respective governments and representation more generally, focusing on 18 established democracies. Two of the findings presented here suggest that there is reason to be concerned about the future of parliamentary representation in established democracies. Firstly, an increasing proportion of votes now go to parties that do not receive a proportion…
The perils and pitfalls of ignoring disproportionality's behavioral components
Jettisoning Illusions About the Median Mandate
We endorse G. Bingham Powell's cautionary corrective to challenge Paul Warwick's conclusions that the median mandate thesis needs to be jettisoned because there is not a close match between median voter and government left‐right positions. More to the point, however, we go beyond Powell's mild caution to challenge Warwick's rejection more assertively and thoroughly. We show his rejection mistakes responsiveness for congruence, misapprehends how a…
Can Gerrymanders Be Detected? An Examination of Wisconsin’s State Assembly
In October 2017, the Supreme Court heard an appeal of a November 2016 ruling striking down Wisconsin’s State Assembly districts as a Republican gerrymander that illegally dilutes the weight of Democratic votes. We take the opportunity to revisit this litigation to evaluate three proposed methods of detecting gerrymanders: the “efficiency gap,” a count of Assembly districts carried by statewide candidates, and the difference between the district-l…
Detecting Florida's Gerrymander: A Lesson in Putting First Things First
Objective We show that Florida's post‐2010 congressional districts were an ex ante knowable gerrymander, which, if diagnosed as a factual matter before enactment, would have avoided both the 2012 and 2014 harm and the state's unnecessarily burdensome reliance on a showing of intent. Method We recount the legal focus on intent, apply the McDonald‐Best equal vote weight effects test standard to the Florida facts, and use more than 25,000 simulated …
Do Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in the Legislature Affect Representation in Government? A Cross-National Analysis
The presence of right-wing populist parties in legislatures has the potential to change the calculus of government formation. I examine the effects of right-wing populist parties on four characteristics of governments in 14 Western democracies: (1) government size; (2) government fragmentation; (3) ideological dispersion/polarisation; and (4) ideological congruence between governments and legislatures. The findings suggest that right-wing populis…
How do voters perceive ideological congruence? The effects of winning and losing under different electoral rules
Do Redistricting Commissions Avoid Partisan Gerrymanders
As attempts to combat partisan gerrymandering transition from proposals to the Supreme Court to state-based districting commissions, it is time to ask two questions. First, how well did commissions in the 2010 round of redistricting perform as neutral decision makers? We answer that question with applications to each of the three independent commissions (AZ, CA, and WA) and four other commission forms (IA, NJ, NY, and VA) in place for post-2010. …
Are leftist or rightist voters better substantively represented? The effects of variance in district magnitude on party-voter ideological congruence
On the relationship between party polarization and citizen polarization
Do party policy offerings simply reflect public opinion or do parties shape public demand for policies? Theories of party position-taking and the operation of democracy expect parties to track their supporters’ positions, while scholarship of public opinion has shown voters often adopt the position of their preferred parties. We apply both of these theoretical expectations to the relationship between citizen polarization and party polarization an…
Electoral Systems and Political Participation (17 works) · Political science (17 works) · Law (16 works) · Politics (14 works) · Economics (13 works) · Law (12 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Democracy (8 works) · Political economy (8 works) · Populism, Right-Wing Movements (8 works)