Political Science Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/6007

Browse

Browsing Political Science Theses and Dissertations by Author "Asberry, Craig"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemEmbargo
    A Key Mechanism of Control: Communication Strategies and Preference Formation in the U.S. House of Representatives
    (University of Oregon, 2024-08-07) Asberry, Craig; Tichenor, Daniel
    This dissertation explores the origins and content of strategic communication in the House of Representatives. Social science literature has established that congressional communication is mediated by various factors: personal characteristics, constituency pressures, and institutional-contextual incentives. All of these variables change the prevalence and content of MC communication. The focus of this dissertation is to explore the determinants and flavors of congressional speech from a quantitative, text-as-data perspective. In short, why do members of Congress focus on the substantive policies that they do? And how does that change the content of their speech? The answers are nuanced. Personal characteristics seem to exert the broadest influence on how often members speak about certain policies, while constituency pressures and institutional-contextual incentives can exert strong, narrowly focused effects on the prevalence of speech by members. Differences in content seem to follow procedural or identity-based rhetorical strategies, representational or obfuscatory strategies, or brand management rhetorical strategies vis-à-vis a member’s posture within the institution of congress. Elucidating these dynamics provides a greater ability for scholars and citizens alike to hold public servants accountable to the American people and take effective action to correct decades of partisan polarization.