Research
Articles
MARJORIE SARBAUGH-THOMPSON,
Wayne State University
LYKE THOMPSON, Wayne State University
CHARLES D. ELDER, Wayne State University
MEG COMINS, University of South Florida
RICHARD C. ELLING, Wayne State University
JOHN STRATE, Wayne State University
Democracy
among Strangers: Term Limits' Effects on Relationships between State Legislators
in Michigan
By truncating service, term limits create massive turnover in some state legislatures
where they exist, bringing flocks of newcomers into office. With less time to get to
know each other and to develop expertise and influence, how do legislators know who
to consult and whose advice to rely on? We explore this and other questions about
three relationships (influence, friendship, and policy consultation) with a longitudinal
study of the Michigan House of Representatives, a highly professionalized body
with stringent limits on legislative terms. We found that term limits lead to a more
pronounced regional component of friendship, greater concentration of influence
among caucus leaders, consulting networks with more prominent hubs that could
control the flow of information, and a decline in relationships across party lines. We
argue that these effects of term limits bode poorly for bipartisan negotiation and
consensus-building among legislators representing diverse constituencies.
|
|
