Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Partisan Polarization and the Representation of Women in the U.S. Congress

本文的理论贡献主要有两点。首先，该理论为当代立法机构的描述性代表制模式提供了解释。其次，政党契合理论的含义超出了描述性代表性和政治领域。该理论为两极分化的持续提供了另一种解释。政党契合理论认为，在两极化的政治环境中，很难选出温和派候选人。本文提出了代表性和党派极化两方面的研究成果。本文试图通过发展党派契合理论来解释党派在代表中的差异。政党契合理论认为，一个政党的意识形态声誉会传递出属于该党的候选人类型的信息。本项目着重于解释描述性表征差异的三种机制。第一个假设探讨了立法机构潜在成员之间的吸引力模式。第二个假设分析了立法委员的退休模式。第三个假设考察了政党积极分子的支持模式。该项目的一个显著特点是，党派契合理论是在立法机构内外的数据上进行测试的，而以前的研究往往是孤立地关注其中一个。本研究对更广泛的学术界和非学术界都有贡献。研究结果将在学术会议上发表，并提交给学术期刊，生成的数据集将向学者公开。在未来，Co-PI将教授关于代表性的课程，而这项研究将加强本科生和研究生的教学、培训和学习。该项目也对美国政治和代议制民主的质量产生了重要影响。我们必须考虑党派之争如何影响众议员选举。这篇论文提供了迄今为止最完整的关于党派极化对代表性影响的图景。

Intellectual MeritThis dissertation makes two main theoretical contributions. First, the theory provides an explanation for contemporary patterns of descriptive representation in the legislature. Second, Party Fit Theory has implications that extend beyond the realm of descriptive representation and politics.  The theory offers an additional explanation for the persistence of polarization.  Party Fit Theory suggests that it may be difficult to elect moderate candidates to a polarized political environment.  This dissertation advances both the representation and partisan polarization literatures.This dissertation seeks to explain partisan differences in representation by developing a theory of Party Fit. Party Fit Theory suggests that a party's ideological reputation sends messages about the type of candidate that belongs in the party. This project focuses on three mechanisms to explain differences in descriptive representation. The first hypothesis explores patterns of attraction among potential members of the legislature. The second hypothesis analyzes patterns of retirement among members of legislature. The third hypothesis examines patterns of support from party activists. A notable feature of the project is that Party Fit Theory is tested on data from within and outside the legislature, whereas previous research tends to focus on one or the other in isolation.Broader Impact of the ResearchThis research contributes to the broader academic and non-academic communities. The findings will be presented at academic conferences and submitted to scholarly journals, and the datasets generated will be made publicly available to scholars. In the future, the Co-PI will teach classes on representation, and the research will enhance the teaching, training, and learning of undergraduate and graduate students. The project also has important consequences for American politics and the quality of representative democracy. We must consider how partisan dynamics affect the election of representatives. This dissertation provides the most complete picture to date of the impact of partisan polarization on representation.