POLSCI 318 Chapter Notes - Chapter All: Nepotism, Discharge Petition, Parallel Computing
11 May 2018
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Congress and the President
9.09.16 Reading Notes
The Institutionalization of the US House of Representatives – by Nelson W. Polsby (1968)
A political system must be institutionalized to carry out functions such as resource allocation,
conflict settlement, problem solving, etc.
For a political system to be free and democratic, institutionalizing representativeness and
allowing for political opposition within the system is crucial
Structure of paper:
Explain how the House of Representatives is institutionalized
Causes, consequences, and lessons from the institutionalization of the House
Three major characteristics of institutions (REMEMBER THIS)
1. Relatively differentiated from its environment
o Members are easily identified and entry is difficult
2. Organization is relatively complex
o Functions are internally separated on some regular and explicit basis
o Parts are not wholly interchangeable
o Parts are interdependent
o Division of labor, widely shared expectations about roles
o Regularized recruitment to roles, movement from role to role
3. Organization tends to be universalistic rather than particularistic, automatic rather than
discretionary
o Precedent/rules followed
o Merit systems, instead of favoritism and nepotism
o Impersonal
Going into each characteristic in detail…
1. Establishment of boundaries
Entry to/exit from membership is difficult
o AKA Stabilization of membership – entry is difficult and turnover is not very frequent
From 1700s to 1900s, there has been a decline in the percentage of first term members and an
increase in terms served by incumbent members
There has been a change over time in the seniority of men selected for Speaker
o Steep rise in the average number of years served in Congress before becoming Speaker
o Number of Speakers who die in office increase, and the number of Speakers who retire
directly after Speaker increase
o Speaker becomes a long-standing career rather than a transient position
o Leadership has much more experience and is, itself, much more differentiated from the rest
of Congress
Discussion: Is turnover increasing now?
o Revolving door – K Street, street in DC with lobbyists, think tanks, so on
o 114th Congress – 13.8% of Congress are first-term members, members on average serve 4
to 5 terms
2. Growth of Internal Complexity
Three ways to prove growth of internal complexity
o 1. Growth of autonomy and importance of committees
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Document Summary
The institutionalization of the us house of representatives by nelson w. polsby (1968) A political system must be institutionalized to carry out functions such as resource allocation, conflict settlement, problem solving, etc. For a political system to be free and democratic, institutionalizing representativeness and allowing for political opposition within the system is crucial. Explain how the house of representatives is institutionalized. Causes, consequences, and lessons from the institutionalization of the house. Relatively differentiated from its environment: members are easily identified and entry is difficult. Organization tends to be universalistic rather than particularistic, automatic rather than discretionary: precedent/rules followed, merit systems, instead of favoritism and nepotism, impersonal. Going into each characteristic in detail : establishment of boundaries. Entry to/exit from membership is difficult: aka stabilization of membership entry is difficult and turnover is not very frequent. From 1700s to 1900s, there has been a decline in the percentage of first term members and an increase in terms served by incumbent members.
