Congress in a Downsian World
Polarization Cycles and Regime Change
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6389766 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lawrence Cloyd Dodd (0000-0003-0854-6801, University of Florida, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 77 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 311-323 |
| Publication date | 2015-04-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3816 • E-ISSN: 1468-2508 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/680041 |
| OpenAlex | W2328073451 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 38 |
This article presents a theory of two-party democracy designed to address the divergence between Anthony Downs' prediction of sustained two-party convergence to the ideological center and polarization cycles in the US Congress. It embraces his analytic strategy and central assumptions, which define the conditions necessary to ideological contestation. It questions the fit between his subsidiary assumptions—such as the existence of an all-powerful unitary state—and American democracy. In utilizing assumptions more appropriate to the American setting, the theory accounts for cycles of party polarization in Congress. These cyclical processes foster ongoing reconstruction of policy regimes in America
Convergence (economics · Democracy · Divergence (linguistics · Economic system · Economics · Ideology · Law and economics · Macroeconomics · Polarization (electrochemistry · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Sociology · Unitary state · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Philosophy · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies
Constitutional government and democracy
Coalitions in Parliamentary Government
Congress, keystone of the Washington establishment
Issue Evolution
Congress and the Politics of Problem Solving
Parties and Leaders in the Postreform House
The Search for American Political Development
Party Polarization in Congress
Information and Legislative Organization
The Evolution of American Legislatures
The Gingrich Senators
White-Collar Government
Representational Style in Congress
Bowling alone
Polarized America
An economic theory of democracy
Politics in Time
Learning Democracy
Can We Talk
Structure-induced equilibrium and legislative choice
Congress, The Electoral Connection
Congress
Optimum Location in Spatial Competition
Stability in Competition
The Decline of Party in the U. S. House of Representatives, 1887-1968
Congress and the Polarity Paradox
In Search of General Theory
Reflections on the Practice of Theorizing
Risk-Bearing and Progressive Ambition
Institutional Arrangements and Equilibrium in Multidimensional Voting Models
The 1942 Congressional Elections
Institutional Context and Leadership Style
| Citations per year | 0.3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2016 - 2018 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |