[PDF] Patterns Of Decision Making In State Legislatures eBook

Author : Susan J. Carroll
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 173 pages
File Size : 35,47 MB
Release : 2013-08-02
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0199361169

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Women remain dramatically underrepresented in elective office, including in entry-level political offices. While they enjoy the freedom to stand for office and therefore have an equal legal footing with men, this persistent gender imbalance raises pressing questions about democratic legitimacy, the inclusivity of American politics, and the quality of political representation. The reasons for women's underrepresentation remain the subject of much debate. One explanation--that the United States lacks sufficient openings for political newcomers--has become less compelling in recent years, as states that have adopted term limits have not seen the expected gains in women's office holding. Other accounts about candidate scarcity, gender inequalities in society, and the lingering effects of gendered socialization have some merit; however, these accounts still fail to explain the relatively low numbers. Drawing upon original surveys conducted in 1981 and 2008 by the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) of women state legislators across all fifty states, and follow-up interviews after the 2008 survey, the authors find that gender differences in pathways to the legislatures, first evident in 1981, have been surprisingly persistent over time. They find that, while the ambition framework better explains men's decisions to run for office, a relationally embedded model of candidate emergence better captures women's decision-making, with women's decisions more often influenced by the encouragement and support of parties, organizations, and family members. By rethinking the nature of women's representation, this study calls for a reorientation of academic research on women's election to office and provides insight into new strategies for political practitioners concerned about women's political equality.

Author : Lester G. Seligman
Publisher :
Page : 298 pages
File Size : 43,6 MB
Release : 1974
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN :

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A study of the informal relationships among candidates, sponsors, opponents and the electorate, which underlie the politics of recruitment in Oregon.

Author : Ballard C. Campbell
Publisher : Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 22,24 MB
Release : 1980
Category : History
ISBN :

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The rise of an immensely powerful federal government in the twentieth century has tended to obscure the importance of state and local government in American history. Yet government at these lesser levels had the most direct and continuous effect on the lives of ordinary citizens. Through an analysis of late-nineteenth-century state legislatures in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin,Ballard Campbell has written what one expert has called "the best book on legislative politics, past or present." The period he examines was one of rapid change and great challenge. Urbanization, industrialization, and increasing national integration forced innumerable difficult and important decisions on state legislators. Campbell is sensitive to these stresses on law-making, and skillfully analyzes the interplay between personal and constituent factors that affected lawmakers. The author differentiates clearly between local and general aspects of state policymaking, giving full consideration to its more subjective and idiosyncratic elements. His comparison of partisan, economic, urban, ethnocultural, and regional influences on legislative behavior will serve as a model for all future studies. By closely examining the substantive dimension of the governmental process and its relation to mass politics, Representative Democracy advances "the new political history." Campbell's discussion of legislative composition and procedure, the content and context of contested issues, and responses to these issues challenges numerous stereotypes about American state legislatures.

Author : Nadia E. Brown
Publisher :
Page : 267 pages
File Size : 32,36 MB
Release : 2014
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0199352437

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Theories of descriptive representation among female legislators consistently document the ways in which women are marginalized in office. However, they tend to treat identity as constant over time and context and so fail to account for the substantive work of legislators. Sisters in the Statehouse looks at the situation from a different angle, taking an in-depth look at African American female state legislators to examine the impact of race and gender on Black women's political experiences, policy preferences, and legislative influence. Brown links personal narratives to the political behavior of her interview subjects to understand how their experiences with racism and sexism have influenced their legislative decision-making and policy preferences. As such, this is the first study that empirically examines how difference is recognized and put into practice among Black women legislators. Brown demonstrates that identity influences political decision making in ways that distinguish the work of Black women from that of other state legislators. Sisters in the Statehouse is a groundbreaking inquiry into how an intersectional approach can enhance our understanding of political representation.