Leading Representatives – The Agency of Leaders in the Politics of the U.S. House (Interpreting American Politics) - Softcover

Strahan, Randall

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801886910 ISBN 13: 9780801886911

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007

Synopsis

Unusual book

About this title

Review:

"Strahan's fascinating analysis, thorough interviews and primary sources, is pure inside baseball."

(Steve Goddard History Wire - Where the Past Comes Alive)

"Strahan has done an excellent job of furthering the debate on House leadership. Highly recommended. All undergraduate, graduate, and research collections."

(Choice)

"Randall Strahan's book offers a fascinating insight into the rigorous methods of political science."

(Bernard Genton Cercles)

Synopsis:

Many studies of Congress hold that congressional leaders are "agents" of their followers, ascertaining what legislators agree on and acting to advance those issues rather than stepping to the forefront to shape national policy or the institution they lead. Randall Strahan has long argued that this approach to understanding leadership is incomplete. Here he demonstrates why and explores the independent contributions leaders make in congressional politics. "Leading Representatives" is a study that draws on both historical and contemporary cases to show how leaders in the U.S. House have advanced changes inside Congress and in national policy. Exploring the tactics, tenure, and efficacy of the leadership of three of the most colorful and prominent Speakers of the House - Henry Clay, Thomas Reed, and Newt Gingrich - Strahan finds the men, though separated in time and of differing thought and actions, were all leaders willing to take political risks to advance goals they cared about deeply. As a result each acted independently of his followers to alter the political landscape.

Strahan makes use of a wide range of resources, including the former representatives' papers and correspondence and interviews with Gingrich and his staffers, to demonstrate how these important leaders influenced policy and politics and where they ran aground. In expounding lessons, Strahan has gleaned over two decades of studying U.S. legislative politics, "Leading Representatives" offers a new theoretical framework - the conditional agency perspective - that effectively links contextual perspectives as applied to congressional leadership with those emphasizing characteristics of individual leaders. This engagingly written book will be of interest to political scholars of all stripes as well as readers inclined to learn more about the history and inner workings of the House.

About this edition

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0801886910
• ISBN 13: 9780801886911
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 280