Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T12:54:04.133Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Party Competition and Coalitional Stability: Evidence from American Local Government

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2020

PETER BUCCHIANERI Open the ORCID record for PETER BUCCHIANERI [Opens in a new window]
PETER BUCCHIANERI*
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University
*
Peter Bucchianeri, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Effective Lawmaking, Vanderbilt University, [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

For decades, political scientists have argued that competition is a fundamental component of a responsible party system, such that when one party dominates politics, legislative coalitions destabilize and democratic accountability suffers. In this paper, I evaluate these predictions in an important but largely unexplored legislative environment: American local government. Using an original collection of roll-call records from 151 municipal councils, I show that legislative behavior is more one-dimensional when elections are partisan and the electorate is evenly balanced between the parties. When either of these features is absent, however, elite behavior remains unstructured, with coalitions shifting over time and across issues. These differences across institutional and competitive contexts suggest that partisan elections—and the party organizations that nearly always come with them—are critical for translating electoral insecurity into organized government, raising questions about the capacity for electoral accountability in a growing set of one-party dominant governments across the country.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 114 , Issue 4 , November 2020 , pp. 1055 - 1070
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This paper was previously titled “Legislative Factions under Democratic One-Party Rule: Evidence from American Local Government.” For helpful comments and discussions throughout the course of this project, I thank Pam Ban, Dan Carpenter, Devin Caughey, Chris Chaky, Katie Einstein, Ryan Enos, Claudine Gay, Jennifer Hochschild, Connor Huff, Chris Lucas, Dan Moskowitz, Max Palmer, Jon Rogowski, Jack Santucci, Jim Snyder, Chris Warshaw, Alan Wiseman, and the participants at Harvard’s American Politics Research Workshop and Political Economy Workshop. In addition, I am grateful to Harvard’s Inequality and Social Policy Program and Institute for Quantitative Social Science for providing generous support that aided in the development and completion of this project. Replication files are available at the American Political Science Review Dataverse: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/8ZT2ID.

References

Adrian, Charles R. 1959. “A Typology for Nonpartisan Elections.” Western Political Quarterly 12 (2): 449–458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldrich, John H. 1995. Why Parties? The Origin and Transformation of Political Parties in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldrich, John H., Montgomery, Jacob M., and Sparks, David B.. 2014. “Polarization and Ideology: Partisan Sources of Low Dimensionality in Scaled Roll Call Analyses.” Political Analysis 22 (4): 435–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldrich, John H., and Battista, James S. Coleman. 2002. “Conditional Party Government in the States.” American Journal of Political Science 46 (1): 164–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldrich, John H., and Griffin, John D.. 2018. Why Parties Matter: Political Competition and Democracy in the American South. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Political Science Association, Committee on Political Parties (APSA). 1950. “Toward a More Responsible Two-Party System.” American Political Science Review 44 (3): i–xi.Google Scholar
Ansolabehere, Stephen, Snyder, James M. Jr., and Stewart, Charles III. 2001. “The Effects of Party and Preferences on Congressional Roll-Call Voting.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 26 (4): 533–572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anzia, Sarah F., and Jackman, Molly C.. 2013. “Legislative Organization and the Second Face of Power: Evidence from U.S. State Legislatures.” The Journal of Politics 75 (1): 210–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anzia, Sarah F., and Meeks, Olivia M.. 2016. “Political Parties and Policy Demanders in Local Elections.” Working Paper, Goldman School of Public Policy. https://bit.ly/2QD2Jlb.Google Scholar
Armstrong, David A. II, Bakker, Ryan, Carroll, Royce, Hare, Christopher, Poole, Keith T., and Rosenthal, Howard. 2014. Analyzing Spatial Models of Choice and Judgement with R. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binder, Sarah A. 1997. Minority Rights, Majority Rule: Partisanship and the Development of Congress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, Bill. 2009. The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart. Boston, MA: Mariner Books.Google Scholar
Bledsoe, Timothy, and Welch, Susan. 1987. “Patterns of Political Party Activity among U.S. Cities.” Urban Affairs Quarterly 23 (2): 249–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonica, Adam, and Cox, Gary W.. 2018. “Ideological Extremists in the U.S. Congress: Out of Step but Still in Office.” Quarterly Journal of Political Science 13: 207–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broach, Glen T. 1972. “A Comparative Dimensional Analysis of Partisan and Urban-Rural Voting in State Legislatures.” Journal of Politics 34 (3): 905–921.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Browning, Rufus P., Marshall, Dale Rogers, and Tabb, David H.. 1986. Protest Is Not Enough: The Struggle of Blacks and Hispanics for Equality in Urban Politics. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Bucchianeri, Peter, Carney, Riley, Enos, Ryan, Lakeman, Amy, and Malina, Gabrielle. 2017. “What Explains Local Policy Cleavages? Examining the Policy Preferences of Public Officials at the Municipal Level.” Paper presented at the 2017 Midwest Political Science Association Conference. https://bit.ly/2We6m1S.Google Scholar
Cann, Damon M., and Sidman, Andrew H.. 2011. “Exchange Theory, Political Parties, and the Allocation of Federal Distributive Benefits in the House of Representatives.” The Journal of Politics 73 (4): 1128–1141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carroll, Royce, and Eichorst, Jason. 2013. “The Role of Party: The Legislative Consequences of Partisan Electoral Competition.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 38 (1): 83–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, Marty, Karol, David, Noel, Hans, and Zaller, John. 2008. The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and McCubbins, Mathew D.. 1993. Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and McCubbins, Mathew D.. 2005. Setting the Agenda: Responsible Party Government in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutright, Phillips. 1963. “Measuring the Impact of Local Party Activity on the General Election Vote.” Public Opinion Quarterly 27 (3): 372–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson, Chandler, and Fraga, Luis Ricardo. 1988. “Slating Groups as Parties in a ‘Nonpartisan’ Setting.” Western Political Quarterly 41 (2): 373–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Benedictis-Kessner, Justin, and Warshaw, Christopher. 2016. “Mayoral Partisanship and Municipal Fiscal Policy.” Journal of Politics 78 (4): 1124–1138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Einstein, Katherine Levine, and Glick, David M.. 2016. “Mayors, Partisanship, and Redistribution: Evidence Directly from U.S. Mayors.” Urban Affairs Review 54 (1): 74–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Einstein, Katherine Levine, and Kogan, Vladimir. 2015. “Pushing the City Limits: Policy Responsiveness in Municipal Government.” Urban Affairs Review 52 (1): 3–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eldersveld, Samuel J. 1995. Party Conflict & Community Development: Postwar Politics in Ann Arbor . Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hajnal, Zoltan, and Trounstine, Jessica. 2014. “What Underlies Urban Politics? Race, Class, Ideology, Partisanship, and the Urban Vote.” Urban Affairs Review 50:1: 63–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Andrew B. 2019. Who Wants to Run? How the Devaluing of Political Office Drives Polarization. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harmel, Robert, and Hamm, Keith E.. 1986. “Development of a Party Role in a No-Party Legislature.” Western Political Quarterly 39 (1): 79–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hassell, Hans J.G. 2015. “Party Control of Party Primaries: Party Influence in Nominations for the US Senate.” The Journal of Politics 78 (1): 75–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Havens, Murray Clark. 1957. City Versus Farm? Urban-rural Conflict in the Alabama Legislature. Bureau of Public Administration, University of Alabama.Google Scholar
Hawley, Willis D. 1973. Nonpartisan Elections and the Case for Party Politics. New York: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Hinchliffe, Kelsey L., and Lee, Frances E.. 2016. “Party Competition and Conflict in State Legislatures.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 16 (2): 172–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, Daniel J. 2018. The Increasingly United States: How and Why American Political Behavior Nationalized. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jenkins, Jeffery A. 1999. “Examining the Bonding Effects of Party: A Comparative Analysis of Roll-Call Voting in the U.S. and Confederate Houses.” American Journal of Political Science 43 (4): 1144–1165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jewell, Malcolm E. 1964. “State Legislatures in Southern Politics.” The Journal of Politics 26 (1): 177–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Key, V. O Jr.. 1942. Politics, Parties and Pressure Groups. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company.Google Scholar
Key, V. O Jr.. 1949. Southern Politics in State and Nation. New York: Knopf.Google Scholar
Krebs, Timothy B. 1998. “The Determinants of Candidates’ Vote Share and the Advantages of Incumbency in City Council Elections.” American Journal of Political Science 42 (3): 921–935.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krebs, Timothy B. 2005. “Money and Machine Politics: An Analysis of Corporate and Labor Contributions in Chicago City Council Elections.” Urban Affairs Review 41 (1): 47–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krehbiel, Keith. 1993. “Where’s the Party?” British Journal of Political Science 23 (2): 235–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krehbiel, Keith. 2007. “Partisan Roll Rates in a Nonpartisan Legislature.” Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 23: 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krehbiel, Keith, Meirowitz, Adam, and Romer, Thomas. 2005. “Parties in Elections, Parties in Government, and Partisan Bias.” Political Analysis 13 (2): 113–138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuriwaki, Shiro. 2019. “Party Loyalty on the Long Ballot: Is Ticket Splitting More Prevalent in State and Local Elections?” Version 3. SocArXiv. https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/bvgz3/.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lauderdale, Benjamin E. 2010. “Unpredictable Voters in Ideal Point Estimation.” Political Analysis 18: 151–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LeBlanc, Hugh L. 1969. “Voting in State Senates: Party and Constituency Influences.” Midwest Journal of Political Science 13 (1): 33–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masket, Seth, and Shor, Boris. 2015. “Polarization without Parties: Term Limits and Legislative Partisanship in Nebraska’s Unicameral Legislature.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 15 (1): 67–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCarty, Nolan, Poole, Keith, and Rosenthal, Howard. 2006. Polarized America: The Dance of Ideology and Unequal Riches. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Molotch, Harvey. 1976. “The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place.” American Journal of Sociology 82 (2): 309–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliver, J. Eric. 2012. Local Elections and the Politics of Small-Scale Democracy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Patterson, Samuel C. 1962. “Dimensions of Voting Behavior in a One-Party State Legislature.” Public Opinion Quarterly 26 (2): 185–200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pelissero, John P., and Krebs, Timothy B.. 1997. “City Council Legislative Committees and Policymaking in Large United States Cities.” American Journal of Political Science 41 (2): 499–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, Paul E. 1981. City Limits. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polsby, Nelson W. 1983. Consequences of Party Reform. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Poole, Keith T. 1998. “Recovering a Basic Space from a Set of Issue Scales.” American Journal of Political Science 42 (3): 954–993.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poole, Keith T. 2000. “Non-Parametric Unfolding of Binary Choice Data.” Political Analysis 8 (3): 211–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Primo, David M., and Snyder, James M. Jr. 2010. “Party Strength, the Personal Vote, and Government Spending.” American Journal of Political Science 54 (2): 354–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rainey, Carlisle. 2014. “Arguing for a Negligible Effect.” American Journal of Political Science 58 (4): 1083–1091.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohde, David W. 1991. Parties and Leaders in the Postreform House. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaffner, Brian F., Streb, Matthew, and Wright, Gerald. 2001. “Teams without Uniforms: The Nonpartisan Ballot in State and Local Elections.” Political Research Quarterly 54 (1): 7–30.Google Scholar
Schleicher, David. 2007. “Why Is There No Partisan Competition in City Council Elections? The Role of Election Law.” Journal of Law and Politics 23 (4): 419–474.Google Scholar
Schlesinger, Joseph A. 1985. “The New American Political Party.” American Political Science Review 79 (4): 1152–1169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shor, Boris, and McCarty, Nolan. 2011. “The Ideological Mapping of American Legislatures.” American Political Science Review 105 (3): 530–551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shufeldt, Gregory, and Flavin, Patrick. 2012. “Two Distinct Concepts: Party Competition in Government and Electoral Competition in the American States.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 12 (3): 330–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, Jr., James M., and Ting, Michael M.. 2002. “An Informational Rationale for Political Parties.” American Journal of Political Science 46 (1): 90–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, Jr., James M., and Groseclose, Tim. 2000. “Estimating Party Influence in Congressional Roll-Call Voting.” American Journal of Political Science 44 (2): 193–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, Clarence N. 1989. Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946–1988. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Svara, James H. 2003. Two Decades of Continuity and Change in American City Councils. Techincal Report. Washington, D.C.: National League of Cities.Google Scholar
Tausanovitch, Chris, and Warshaw, Christopher. 2014. “Representation in Municipal Government.” American Political Science Review 108 (3): 605–641.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomsen, Danielle M. 2017. Opting Out of Congress: Partisan Polarization and the Decline of Moderate Candidates. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trounstine, Jessica. 2016. “Segregation and Inequality in Public Goods.” American Journal of Political Science 60 (3): 709–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warshaw, Christopher, and Rodden, Jonathan. 2012. “How Should We Measure District-Level Public Opinion on Individual Issues?” The Journal of Politics 74 (1): 203–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welch, Susan, and Carlson, Eric H.. 1973. “The Impact of Party on Voting Behavior in a Nonpartisan Legislature.” American Political Science Review 67 (3): 854–867.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, Gerald C. 2008. “Charles Adrian and the Study of Nonpartisan Elections.” Political Research Quarterly 61 (1): 13–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, Gerald C., and Schaffner, Brian F.. 2002. “The Influence of Party: Evidence from the State Legislatures.” American Political Science Review 96 (2): 367–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: Link

Bucchianeri Datset

Dataset

https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/8ZT2ID
Link
Supplementary material: PDF

Bucchianeri supplementary material

Online Appendix
Download Bucchianeri supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 572.7 KB
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.