Constructing the Bloc: Intraparty Group within the US Congress

Traversing greater than a century of American historical past, this guide advances a brand new concept of congressional group to clarify why and the way social gathering dissidents depend on establishments of their very own making, arguing that these intraparty organizations can radically shift the steadiness of energy between social gathering leaders and rank-and-file members. Intraparty organizations empower legislators of various ideological stripes to attain collective and coordinated motion by offering selective incentives to cooperative members, remodeling public-good insurance policies into excludable accomplishments, and serving to members to institute guidelines and procedures to advertise group determination making. Drawing on wealthy archival proof and interview knowledge, the guide particulars the challenges dissident lawmakers encounter after they face off in opposition to social gathering leaders and their efforts to arrange in response. Eight case research complicate our understanding of landmark fights over guidelines reform, early twentieth-century financial struggles, mid-century battles over civil rights laws, and modern debates over nationwide well being care and financial coverage.