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Losers in Politics (and How They Sometimes Become Winners): William Riker's Heresthetic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2003

Kennet A. Shepsle
Kennet A. Shepsle
Affiliation:
George Markham Professor of Government at Harvard University ([email protected]). His research has focused on developing formal theories of politics with special application to American and comparative institutional practices. Currently he is devoting attention to intergenerational strategic considerations. William Riker was his teacher and mentor
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Abstract

This article develops an idea implicit in many of the writings of the late William Harrison Riker on the role in politics for “losers.” Out-of-power politicians, intent upon changing their fortunes and securing office, provide a rhythm to political life that often goes unappreciated (with media and scholarly attention primarily focused instead on those in power).

Type
Articles
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , June 2003 , pp. 307 - 315
Copyright
© 2003 by the American Political Science Association

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