Testing the Effects of Two-Dimensional Conflict on Legislative Productivity

To fully understand the role that political conflict plays in legislatures it is necessary to move beyond characterizations of discord that focus solely on party polarization and consider as well the uncivil behavior of individual members. In this view, conflict in legislatures is two-dimensional—partisan and personal—and both dimensions can affect the institution’s policymaking performance. Thus the two dimensions can operate in tandem, at times, with both party system polarization and heightened interpersonal conflict between members of different parties magnifying disputes over policy. Or, partisan difference and personal conflict may operate independently of one another. Thus members can act in uncivil ways towards co-partisans, during intraparty disputes over policy, or uncivil member behavior can be directed at either party or the institution as a whole. The research will provide a nuanced assessment of the effects both forms of conflict—partisan and personal—can have on legislative accomplishment. In doing so, I use a standard measure of legislative productivity, developed by Clinton and Lapinski (2006), and compliment this with a unique measure of topical legislative productivity. Preliminary analyses indicate, after accounting for the effects of party polarization and other consideration, ‘total incivilities’ and ‘inter-party incivilities’ attenuate legislative accomplishment. On the other hand, I find ‘intraparty incivilities’ associate positively with both measures of legislative output. The positive relationship between intraparty incivility and productivity is consistent with the thesis that cross-cutting party cleavages can often prompt legislative action. It also supports the thesis that moderate levels of conflict are most likely to produce landmark laws, whereas low conflict or extreme conflict are each counterproductive. Over all, findings suggest that attention to uncivil personal or relational conflict will substantially enhance our understanding of legislative productivity, or lack thereof, in legislatures.