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The Institutionalization of the U.S. House of Representatives

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  • Polsby, Nelson W.

Abstract

Most people who study politics are in general agreement, it seems to me, on at least two propositions. First, we agree that for a political system to be viable, for it to succeed in performing tasks of authoritative resource allocation, problem solving, conflict settlement, and so on, in behalf of a population of any substantial size, it must be institutionalized. That is to say, organizations must be created and sustained that are specialized to political activity. Otherwise, the political system is likely to be unstable, weak, and incapable of servicing the demands or protecting the interests of its constituent groups. Secondly, it is generally agreed that for a political system to be in some sense free and democratic, means must be found for institutionalizing representativeness with all the diversity that this implies, and for legitimizing yet at the same time containing political opposition within the system.

Suggested Citation

  • Polsby, Nelson W., 1968. "The Institutionalization of the U.S. House of Representatives," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 62(1), pages 144-168, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:62:y:1968:i:1:p:144-168_2
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    Cited by:

    1. Kroszner, Randall S & Stratmann, Thomas, 1998. "Interest-Group Competition and the Organization of Congress: Theory and Evidence from Financial Services' Political Action Committees," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(5), pages 1163-1187, December.
    2. Sarah Binder, 2020. "How we (should?) study Congress and history," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 185(3), pages 415-427, December.
    3. Byung‐Jae Lee & Tae Wan Kim & Jaekwon Suh & O. Fiona Yap, 2021. "Local government performance and democratic consolidation: Explaining ordinance proposal in Busan Metropolitan Council," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(1), pages 15-41, January.
    4. Charles J Finocchiaro & Jeffery A Jenkins, 2016. "Distributive politics, the electoral connection, and the antebellum US Congress: The case of military service pensions," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 28(2), pages 192-224, April.
    5. Scott H. Ainsworth, 1997. "Representation and Institutional Stability," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 9(2), pages 147-165, April.
    6. Nikoleta Yordanova, 2011. "The European Parliament: In need of a theory," European Union Politics, , vol. 12(4), pages 597-617, December.
    7. Yuriy O. Guyvoronskiy & Svetlana A. Karandashova & Elena V. Sirotkina & Anastasia Y. Shishorina, 2014. "The Institutionalization Of The Party System In Russia: Opportunities And Threats At The Elections Of Governors," HSE Working papers WP BRP 17/PS/2014, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    8. Ndlovu, Nicholas. P. & Borrass, Lars, 2021. "Promises and potentials do not grow trees and crops. A review of institutional and policy research in agroforestry for the Southern African region," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).

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