Conflict in Congress: A Call for Moderation

The book introduces Legislative Conflict Theory. The theory suggests that conflict in legislatures is two-dimensional and that a moderate level of conflict will be most productive. The two types of conflict are policy differences and relational conflict. Using the US Congress as a testing ground, and novel indicators of both forms of conflict and legislative productivity, the book tests the theory various ways. The testing arrives at the conclusion that specific Congresses and historical er...