Conventional theories of elections hold that an election is analogous to a consumer product market. According to the market paradigm, voters are consumers, candidates are competing firms, and an election is a market in which voters exchange votes for policy by voting for the candidates whose policies they prefer. According to this logic, a healthy democracy requires frequent competitive elections. The market analogy underlies decades of electoral theory, but in Hiring and Firing Public Officials, Justin Buchler contends that it does not capture the real nature of elections. In fact,...

In Incremental Polarization, Justin Buchler fills critical gaps in our understanding of legislative polarization by crafting a unified spatial theory of legislative elections, parties, and roll call voting. He contends that we need to move beyond elections and factor in Congress members' behavior in roll call voting-where a different but related spatial continuum operates.

In Incremental Polarization, Justin Buchler fills critical gaps in our understanding of legislative polarization by crafting a unified spatial theory of legislative elections, parties, and roll call voting. He contends that we need to move beyond elections and factor in Congress members' behavior in roll call voting-where a different but related spatial continuum operates.