Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

Journal Article 12.1: Barnes, T. D., & Cassese, E. C. (2017). American party women: A look at the gender gap within parties. Political Research Quarterly, 70, 127–141.

Abstract: Research on the gender gap in American politics has focused on average differences between male and female voters. This has led to an underdeveloped understanding of sources of heterogeneity among women and, in particular, a poor understanding of the political preferences of Republican women. We argue that although theories of ideological sorting suggest gender gaps should exist primarily between political parties, gender socialization theories contend that critical differences lie at the intersection of gender and party such that gender differences likely persist within political parties. Using survey data from the 2012 American National Election Study, we evaluate how party and gender intersect to shape policy attitudes. We find that gender differences in policy attitudes are more pronounced in the Republican Party than in the Democratic Party, with Republican women reporting significantly more moderate views than their male counterparts. Mediation analysis reveals that the gender gaps within the Republican Party are largely attributable to gender differences in beliefs about the appropriate scope of government and attitudes toward gender-based inequality. These results afford new insight into the joint influence of gender and partisanship on policy preferences and raise important questions about the quality of representation Republican women receive from their own party.

Journal Article 12.2: Osborn, T. (June 2014). Women state legislators and representation: The role of political parties and institutions. State and Local Government Review, 46, 146-155.

Abstract: Research on women legislators in the U.S. states has made significant progress toward understanding how women legislators affect public policies. We still lack, however, a clear picture of how variation in legislative structure affects such policy making. Through control of the legislative process and ideological structure, political parties can enhance or constrain women legislators’ efforts. Institutional configurations such as women’s caucuses and women’s power in committee leadership also affect the types of policies women legislators create. By examining these legislative variations, researchers and practitioners can understand more thoroughly the legislative conditions under which women’s representation of women’s issues is most effective.

Journal Article 12.3: Nownes, A. J. (May 2012). An experimental investigation of the effects of celebrity support for political parties in the United States. American Politics Research, 40, 476-500.

Abstract: In this study, I report the results of a pretest-posttest, control group experiment in which some of my more than 500 respondents were exposed to factual information about celebrity support for political parties and some were not. I proceed from the assumption that celebrity political activity is more likely to influence citizens’ views of political parties than it is to affect either citizens’ vote choices or views of individual candidates. I make this assumption based on the work of Green, Palmquist, and Schickler, who posit that party identification is a social identity. The results provide support for this notion. Specifically, they show that celebrity political activity can indeed influence some citizens’ views of political parties. The results show also that celebrity political activity can affect citizens’ views of politically active celebrities.

Journal Article 12.4: Oliver, W. M. & Marion, N. E. (December 2008). Political party platforms: Symbolic politics and criminal justice policy. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 19, 397-413.

Abstract: The theory of symbolic politics is used to examine the elements of criminal justice policy in political party platforms. It is hypothesized that political parties use their party platforms to make symbolic, rather than substantive, statements. Data were collected from the digital archives of both the American Presidency Project and the American Reference Library consisting of all political party platforms from 1868 to 2004. A content analysis of these party platforms, as they related to crime and justice issues, offers partial support for the claim that presidents and political parties use these party platforms primarily for evoking symbols.