Back to School: Representation & Polarization in U.S. Educational Institutions

• In Event: Political Parties and American Democracy Mini-Conference III: The State of Polarization, Nationalization, and Identity in U.S. Schools

Abstract

Federalism in the United States has led to wealth of variety, as well as pitfalls, when collecting data about local institutions. That last 20 years has seen monumental progress in tackling questions of local government representation and polarization. Using a new data source, I highlight the causal link between policy discussion and voter preferences, and therefore representation of these preferences, by tracking policy in meeting minutes across the continental United States. This work defines the state of ideological representation in these local governments. That is, I focus on whether republican-dominated areas produce conservative policy, and vice-versa, and how this process may link to the causal chain of representation. This work contributes substantially to the American politics literature by clarifying the causal link of meetings in determining policy outputs and demonstrates how polarization significantly impact how representative federalism works and persists in local government in the United States.

Author

• Sara Bornstein, The George Washington University