Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Reilly, Jack
Area of Concentration
Political Science
Abstract
Polarization has become a popular topic in the political science literature. The majority of research pertaining to this topic, however, has focused on polarization among voters or federal officials. What about polarization among state officials? Proposed causes of this phenomenon have ranged from racial division to psychological factors. Since institutions deal directly with legislatures, could they be a causal mechanism for this phenomenon? One example of an institution that could potentially influence legislative polarization is the implementation of legislative term limits. Do legislative term limits affect the polarization of state legislators? Based on the results of this study, term limits increase legislative polarization at the subnational level. This could have major policy implications. Term limits could be implemented or outlawed in states that currently have them to increase or decrease legislative polarization.
Recommended Citation
Plank, Sebastian, "THE EFFECTS OF TERM LIMITS ON LEGISLATIVE POLARIZATION AT THE SUBNATIONAL LEVEL" (2020). Theses & ETDs. 5885.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5885