Thinking About Congress：Essays on Congressional Change

Observing the polarized, debilitating politics of today’s Congress, one wonders whether change is possible on Capitol Hill. In Thinking about Congress, Lawrence Dodd reminds us that Congress seemed equally intransigent at times the past, yet change and rejuvenation came. Reading his classic essays, one sees Congress move from Committee Government in mid-twentieth century to Liberal Democratic reforms in the 1970s to the 1994 Republican Revolution to Party Government today. Simultaneously, one proceeds with Dodd to an ever-deeper understanding of the dynamic character of Congress.

Across forty years of watching paralysis give way to change, Dodd crafts a theory of congressional cycles – essay by essay – that explains why Congress evolves. However permanent periods of intransigency appear, the theory argues, they can and do give way to growing concern by legislators and parties for the collective public-interest; to citizen demand for change generated by social crises; and to innovative ideas about politics and policy. With these developments come policy breakthrough, institutional renewal, and enormous social progress.

A rare book, Thinking about Congress holds out hope for the future while illuminating both the process and object of inquiry.

Lawrence C. Dodd holds the Manning J. Dauer Eminent Scholar Chair in Political Science at the University of Florida. His books include Coalitions in Parliamentary Government, Congress and the Administrative State, Learning Democracy, and nine editions of Congress Reconsidered. The university selected him as 2007 Teacher-Scholar of the Year, its highest faculty honor.

Foreword: Eric Schickler, University of California-Berkeley Preface: The Origin, Development and Plan of the Book Introduction 1. Congress as Public Mirror Part I. Member Goals and Institutional Context 2. Congress and the Quest for Power 1977 3. Congress, the Constitution and the Crisis of Legitimation 1981 4. Bicameralism in Congress: The Changing Partnership, with Edward Carmines 1985 Part II. Political Parties, Institutional Cycles and Era Transformations 5. The Cycles of Legislative Change: Building a Dynamic Model 1986a 6. A Theory of Congressional Cycles: Solving the Puzzle of Change 1986b Part III. Societal Change, Social Learning and Political Renewal 7. Congress, the Presidency and the American Experience: A Transformational Perspective 1991 8. Congress and the Politics of Renewal: Redressing the Crisis of Legitimation 1993 9.The New American Politics: Reflections on the Early 1990s 1995 Part IV. The Multiple Dimensions and Processes of Change 10. Re-Envisioning Congress: Theoretical Perspectives on Congressional Change—2004 2001/2005 11. Making Sense Out of Our Exceptional Senate 2002