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The Challenge of Congressional Representation
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There are numerous reasons why political scientists might be interested in the individual, as well as the collective, activities of our elected poli- ticians. Whatever the reasons might be—theoretical or practical—our interest in their collective behavior patterns has dominated contempo- rary political science research. In our work on Congress, studies involv- ing career patterns, roll call vote patterns, committee activity patterns, and partisan voting patterns—both cross-sectional and over time— have been dominant. And individual politicians have usually ended up as integers destined for burial in large data collections. Except for the occasional biographical reference, the activities of particular individu- als have not become central objects of political science research.
In the constituency-centered study that follows, however, the activi- ties of five US House members are singled out for sustained inspec- tion, with the intention of strengthening the scholarly case for close-up representation-centered studies in American national politics. And, specifically, to jump-start that endeavor by examining the political activities of several US Representatives in their home constituencies.
Congressional Representation is a study of representation in single- member districts, with plurality-wins-all systems of vote counting. As with the author’s earlier study, Home Style, the constituency focus and the individual level of analysis have been maintained.1 But, in this study, the protective anonymity of the elected individuals has been elimi- nated—all with the express intention of encouraging further research
Richard F. Fenno - Personal Name
1st Edtion
978-0-674-07269-5
NONE
The Challenge of Congressional Representation
Management
English
Harvard University Press
2013
USA
1-270
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