Professor Theriault received his Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University in 2001. He is now an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has received numerous teaching awards. His first book, The Power of the People: Congressional Competition, Media Attention, and Public Retribution, was published in 2005. His articles have appeared in numerous journals, including the Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Social Science History, and American Politics Research. Professor Theriault resides with his partner, Anthony Bristol, in Houston and Austin, Texas.
1. Party polarization in the US Congress
Part I. Building Blocks for Explaining Party Polarization: 2. A brief history of party polarization
3. Explanations for party polarization
Part II. Constituency Change: 4. Redistricting
5. The political and geographic sorting of constituents
6. Extremisms of party activists
Part III. Institutional Change: 7. Connecting constituency change to institutional change
8. The interaction in the legislative process
9. The link between the House and Senate
10. Procedural polarization in the US Congress.
