Mandates, Parties, and Voters: How Elections Shape the Future (Social Logic of Politics) - Hardcover

Fowler, James H; Smirnov, Oleg

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1592135943 ISBN 13: 9781592135943

Publisher: Temple University Press, 2007

Synopsis

Most research on two-party elections has considered the outcome as a single, dichotomous event: either one or the other party wins. In this groundbreaking book, James Fowler and Oleg Smirnov investigate not just who wins, but by how much, and they marshal compelling evidence that mandates-in the form of margin of victory-matter. Using theoretical models, computer simulation, carefully designed experiments, and empirical data, the authors show that after an election the policy positions of both parties move in the direction preferred by the winning party-and they move even more if the victory is large. In addition, Fowler and Smirnov not only show that the divergence between the policy positions of the parties is greatest when the previous election was close, but also that policy positions are further influenced by electoral volatility and ideological polarization.

This pioneering book will be of particular interest to political scientists, game theoreticians, and other scholars who study voting behavior and its short-term and long-range effects on public policy.

About this title

About the Author:

James H. Fowler is Associate Professor of Political Science at University of California, San Diego.

Oleg Smirnov is Assistant Professor of Political Science at University of Miami.

Review:

"In this intriguing book, James Fowler and Oleg Smirnov propose a dynamic model of electoral competition in which 'mandates,' that is, margins of victory, play a central role....This is an impressive study. The authors present an interesting blend of formal theory and inductive reasoning...There is little technical jargon and the presentation is simple and clear. The study is most impressive in its display of an amazing variety of methodological approaches...The message of the book is far from trivial.... In short, this is a thoughtful and provocative book."
—Perspectives on Politics

About this edition

• Publisher: Temple University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1592135943
• ISBN 13: 9781592135943
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 216