Divided Parties, Strong Leaders (Paperback)

Ruth Bloch Rubin

ISBN 10: 0226841847 / ISBN 13: 9780226841847

Published by The University of Chicago Press, 2025

About this Item

Paperback. Drawing on nearly a century of legislative history, this careful account invites readers to think anew about when, why, and how leaders of divided parties wield power in Congress. For decades, legislative scholars have viewed party divisions as critical constraints on congressional leadership. The more a party's rank and file disagree with one another, the weaker their leaders are predicted to be; as member preferences converge, leader power is thought to increase. In a powerful corrective to this prevailing view, Ruth Bloch Rubin argues that party divisions are not inherently limiting. Divided Parties, Strong Leaders highlights and examines variation in how members of party factions choose to work together. She shows that leaders of divided parties are well positioned to overcome, and even draw strength from, their divided ranks when the collaborative efforts of their coalitions' competing factions are evenly matched. By contrast, their capacity to get what they want is more limited when one faction has out-collaborated its competition. Presenting detailed case studies of some of the most storied leaders of the postwar Congress, including Speakers Sam Rayburn and Nancy Pelosi, Bloch Rubin analyzes the factional configuration each leader encountered and explains why it mattered for their exercise of power. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780226841847

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Divided Parties, Strong Leaders (Paperback)
• Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226841847
• ISBN 13: 9780226841847
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Drawing on nearly a century of legislative history, this careful account invites readers to think anew about when, why, and how leaders of divided parties wield power in Congress.

For decades, legislative scholars have viewed party divisions as critical constraints on congressional leadership. The more a party’s rank and file disagree with one another, the weaker their leaders are predicted to be; as member preferences converge, leader power is thought to increase.

In a powerful corrective to this prevailing view, Ruth Bloch Rubin argues that party divisions are not inherently limiting. Divided Parties, Strong Leaders highlights and examines variation in how members of party factions choose to work together. She shows that leaders of divided parties are well positioned to overcome, and even draw strength from, their divided ranks when the collaborative efforts of their coalitions’ competing factions are evenly matched. By contrast, their capacity to get what they want is more limited when one faction has out-collaborated its competition. Presenting detailed case studies of some of the most storied leaders of the postwar Congress, including Speakers Sam Rayburn and Nancy Pelosi, Bloch Rubin analyzes the factional configuration each leader encountered and explains why it mattered for their exercise of power.

About the Author

Ruth Bloch Rubin is associate professor of political science at the University of Chicago. She is the author of Building the Bloc: Intraparty Organization in the U.S. Congress.