Books in the Legislative Politics and Policy Making series

Presents an original study of US congressional elections and electoral institutions for 1872-1944 from a contemporary political science perspective. The authors test the applicability in a historical context of modern political science theories, assess the effects of institutional reforms, and identify the factors that shape the competitiveness of elections.

The recent rise of "primarying" corresponds to the rise of national fundraising bases and new types of partisan organizations supporting candidates around the country

Squire offers a comprehensive history of legislatures, core institutions in American political development

Revealing data from the U.S. Congress and state legislatures challenge conventional assumptions about minority parties

Examine the ways that US Congress has used the legislative veto over the past 80 years. Michael J. Berry argues that, since the US Supreme Court declared the legislative veto unconstitutional in Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) v. Chadha (1983), Congress has strategically modified its use of the veto to give more power to Appropriations Committees.

Through 13 years of intensive research and 460 interviews, this study assesses changes since Michigan's implementation of term limits in 1993 and explores their implications. Paying special attention to term limits' institutional effects, the authors also consider legislative representation, political accountability, and the role of the bureaucracy and interest groups in state legislatures.

Analyzes the impacts of partisanship, polarization, and institutional reforms on how the U.S. Congress resolves inter-cameral differences

Examines the factors that make women politicians more electorally vulnerable than their male counterparts. These factors combine to convince women that they must work harder to win elections - a phenomenon that Jeffrey Lazarus and Amy Steigerwalt term ""gendered vulnerability"".

The party whips are essential components of the US legislative system, responsible for marshalling party votes and keeping House and Senate party members in line. In The Whips, C. Lawrence Evans offers a comprehensive exploration of coalition building and legislative strategy in the US House and Senate.

Investigates whether legislators in earlier historical eras were motivated by many of the same factors that influence their behaviour today, especially with regard to the pursuit of reelection. In this respect, they examine the role of electoral incentives in shaping legislative behaviour across a wide swath of the nineteenth century.

Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party in May 2001 and became an independent. Because he agreed to vote with the Democrats on organisational votes, this gave that party a 51-49 majority in the Senate. Using the "Jeffords switch", Chris Den Hartog and Nathan W. Monroe examine how power is shared and transferred in the Senate.

Analyses transcripts for all district and circuit court confirmation hearings between 1993 and 2012. The authors find that the practice of confirmation hearings for district and circuit nominees provides an important venue in which senators can advocate on behalf of their policy preferences and bolster their chances of being reelected.

Erik J. Engstrom offers a historical perspective on the effects of gerrymandering on elections and party control of the US national legislature. Engstrom evaluates the abundant cross-sectional and temporal variation in redistricting plans and their electoral results from all the states, from 1789 through the 1960s, to identify the causes and consequences of partisan redistricting.