摘要:

A current debate in congressional behavior research surrounds the continued adherence to norms of legislative behavior, especially “legislator expertise” or specialization. We examine the degree to which senators adhere to the traditional specialization norm of the U.S. Senate. Based on an analysis of primary sponsorship in the 101st Congress, this study finds that the specialization norm is still present in the contemporary Senate, but that type of specialization is an important distinction to make when evaluating the strength of the norm. We identify two forms of specialization: institutional and personal. Using this construct, we find that legislators who deemphasize institutional specialization are often electorally vulnerable and/or facing reelection soon. These senators placed less emphasis on focused legislative activity, presumably to engage in constituency‐oriented sponsorship of legisl

ISSN:0730-2177    

DOI:10.1111/j.1747-1346.1996.tb00430.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This article examines the dimensional structure of roll‐call voting in the Senate. Using an unfolding analysis based on interest group ratings, a single ideological dimension is found. The robustness of this dimension is explored by examining how well it explains a series of roll‐call votes on foreign policy issues. As anticipated, the ideological dimension predicts these votes better than do other baseline models. This provides strong support for unidimensional theories of congressional voting behavior. Additionally, it suggests that while foreign policy may be substantively different from domestic policy, it is evaluated on the basis of a common ideological dimens

ISSN:0730-2177    

DOI:10.1111/j.1747-1346.1996.tb00431.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This study focuses on the relationship between the Solicitor General and the Supreme Court in cases involving the federal government as a direct party in litigation. Particular attention is given to the impact of presidential appointments on the success of the federal government in litigation. The analyses indicate that there are differences in success rates for the federal government when we control for the effects of different presidential administrations, different solicitors general, issue areas, and changes in the Court's ideological composition over time. Multivariate analysis demonstrates that changes in the Supreme Court brought about by presidential appointment combined with the ideological position taken by the solicitor general in the case has a significant impact on the success of the federal government in litigation.

ISSN:0730-2177    

DOI:10.1111/j.1747-1346.1996.tb00432.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This article examines the opening statements made by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee at Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Its aim is to identify the audiences senators target in their opening statements and to examine the messages they send to these audiences. The article shifts the focus away from the outcome of Supreme Court nominations to the “nomination discourse” of confirmation proceedings. Although senators use their opening statements to send a variety of messages to multiple audiences, they tend to emphasize the themes of judicial philosophy, the questioning of nominees, and the Senate's role in the confirmation proc

ISSN:0730-2177    

DOI:10.1111/j.1747-1346.1996.tb00433.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

In the following analysis, we utilize district level data on voter turnout to examine the relationship between political mobilization and voter turnout. The analysis improves on previous research in the following three ways: (1) we incorporate a dynamic element into our analysis allowing us to examine differences in turnout across election years; (2) we more closely examine the nonrecursive relationship between the closeness of an election and fluctuations in voter turnout; and (3) we relate our findings to the question of whether or not turnout makes a difference in electoral outcomes. The results indicate that while demographic factors help to explain the level of turnout across congressional districts, differences in turnout across election years are better explained as a function of campaign mobilization and residential mobility. In addition, by taking into account the simultaneity between electoral competitiveness and turnout, we find that turnout is not only stimulated by more competitive elections, but that turnout contributes to electoral competitiveness.

ISSN:0730-2177    

DOI:10.1111/j.1747-1346.1996.tb00434.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The prevailing interpretation of Smith suggests that there is an easy transition between “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” and “The Wealth of Nations.” The present study looks at Smith's accounts of economic self‐interest in the “Theory” and the “Wealth” with two questions in mind: first, what is the precise nature of Smith's reconciliation of self‐interest and morality? and second, is this reconciliation actualized in commercial society? It concludes that Smith's enterprise was more radical than the civic humanist and jurisprudential interpretations allow, especially insofar as they understate Smith's agreement with Ho

ISSN:0730-2177    

DOI:10.1111/j.1747-1346.1996.tb00435.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This article offers a theoretical explanation of the transformation of national identity in the Republic of Ireland. Because of fundamental changes in the nature of Irish society, the post‐colonial nationalism of the de Valera era has given way to a much more cosmopolitan sense of self. Initially after independence, Irish nationalists strove to recreate an authentic Gaelic world as they idealized it. Ultimately, this conception of Irish national identity was challenged by the forces of urbanization, industrialization, secularization, and more cosmopolitan values emanating from the rest of Europe. Census and survey data provide empirical evidence that changes in the social bases of Irish nationalist identity has indeed transformed a historic ethno‐nationalism into a more secular and potentially less divisive basis of political identificat

ISSN:0730-2177    

DOI:10.1111/j.1747-1346.1996.tb00436.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Nigeria's constitutional system explicitly establishes local autonomy as one of the principles of its “three tier” federalism. Over the thirty years of Nigerian Independence, however, there have been barriers to local government autonomy—even under civilian rule—that have prevented the constitutional ideal from being realized. Some of the barriers are holdovers from the traditional society and some are of contemporary origin. None of the barriers is as troublesome as the recurrent milita

ISSN:0730-2177    

DOI:10.1111/j.1747-1346.1996.tb00437.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Although never constituting a majority in either chamber of Congress, the South's representatives have shown remarkable prowess in blocking liberal legislation. This reality was central to Key's conceptualization of a conservative coalition in 1949 and to Congressional Quarterly's development of a conservative coalition index in 1957. Since these events, the South stopped sending a homogenous delegation of white male Democrats to Congress. Due to the inclusion of Republicans and minorities in the South's congressional delegation, a re‐examination of the way we learn about the region's legislative influence is needed. In this paper we propose two variations of CQ's model that allow us to more accurately explore the longitudinal influence of the South in Congres

ISSN:0730-2177    

DOI:10.1111/j.1747-1346.1996.tb00438.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Book reviewed in this article:Kenneth W. Thompson.Fathers of International Thought: The Legacy of Political Theory.John A. Conley, ed.The 1967 President's Crime Commission Report: Its Impact 25 Years Later.T. A. Jenkins.The Liberal Ascendancy, 1830–1886.Richard S. Hillman.Democracy for the Privileged: Crisis and Transition in Venezuela.Andrew Hey wood.Political Ideas and Concepts: An Introductio

ISSN:0730-2177    

DOI:10.1111/j.1747-1346.1996.tb00439.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY