The following is a list of recent publications. For a more comprehensive list, please consult my CV (here).
Movement Society in Comparative Perspective
Kyle Dodson
Recent theorizing argues that citizens in advanced democracies are turning to protests as a means to voicing political preferences. Advocates claim that citizens now live in a “movement society,” where protest activities stand alongside more traditional forms of political participation. However, despite the theoretical advances embodied in the movement society approach, comprehensive evaluations of the underlying claims are lacking. This study remedies the empirical gaps by assessing three arguments. First, are more citizens participating in protest activities? Second, are protest activities expanding to more democratic countries? Third, have protest activities become “institutionalized,” as indicated by a shift to non-confrontational tactics? Analyses based on cross-national data provide mixed support for the movement society thesis. More citizens are becoming involved in protests, and this trend is observed in a large number of advanced democracies. Yet, there has not been a discernable shift toward the use of non-confrontational tactics; indeed, confrontational tactics are becoming more popular as well.
The Return of the American Voter? Party Polarization and Voting Behavior, 1988 to 2004
Kyle Dodson
A frequent concern voiced by social commentators has been the persistence of mass disengagement over the past two decades—despite evidence of improving democratic involvement. In particular, since 1988, voter turnout in presidential elections has dramatically rebounded, to the point that they now rival the turnout rates of the 1960s. Yet little is known about the cause of this trend. The primary theoretical focus of the following study is to examine what factors were behind this increase in turnout, paying particular attention to the electoral relevance of increasing party polarization. Results indicate that the rise in polarization was a central driver behind the turnout boom. Changes in the electoral environment account for almost 80% of the total increase in voter turnout. The analysis suggests that party polarization represents a key mechanism that links citizens to the larger political process. Implications for the current state of mass engagement generally and political behavior specifically are discussed.
National Security Issues and U.S. Presidential Elections, 1992-2008
Clem Brooks, Kyle Dodson, and Nikole Hotchkiss
Have the 2001 terrorist attacks and two wars continued to affect the partisan salience of national security issues in U.S. elections? Was the impact of these issues in 2008 overshadowed by renewed focus on the part of voters to domestic conditions and policy issues? This study addresses these questions using recently-released data from the National Election Studies. Building from scholarship on the partisan politics of national security, we seek to incorporate two competing theoretical perspectives on these issues. We consider the 2008 contest in conjunction with the four elections that preceded it to take into account the impact of recent historical events and evaluate key hypotheses. The analysis offers new findings regarding the over-time pattern of influence of national security conflicts on voter choice. We find evidence for the importance of national security issues in the 2008 election, alongside established sources of voter preferences. Implications for theory and research are discussed in conclusion.