Legislator Use of Communication Technology

Joe West

doi:10.5771/9781498565301

Summary

Political use of communication technology is rapidly changing the nature of politics; one need look no further than President Trump’s use of Twitter to realize the impact that communication technology is having on political processes. Communication technology has long been recognized as part of the policy feedback process, but until now, has received relatively little focus, often relegated to a line or two in a policy process theory system diagram labeled “feedback." This book takes a fresh look at the role that communication technology plays in the policy process by applying natural science control and electrical engineering concepts such as bandwidth, latency, phase crossover, and positive and negative feedback to develop the critical frequency theory of policy system stability. This theory suggests that every policymaking institution has some critical frequency of communications from the policy environment that once exceeded, causes the policymaking institution to go unstable, and it is this instability that causes the policymaking process to speed up. With the theory developed, data collected on approximately 2,000 state legislators from every state in the U.S. is analyzed using linear and nonlinear regression models to understand the statistically significant relationships between communication technology frequency of use and importance, and the demographic, political, and institutional variables that contribute to policy process stability and instability. Additionally, interviews with legislators uncover many novel and interesting examples of the use of communication technology in the policy process. For example, legislators note that lobbyists sitting in legislative chambers listening to floor debates are actually texting questions and answers to legislators as they debate; legislators participating in this process are acting as policymaking puppets for the lobbyists sitting in the gallery. This single use of a communication technology has the capability of changing the very nature of what it means to be a legislator; with lobbyists acting as surrogate legislators.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2018
ISBN-Print: 978-1-4985-6529-5
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4985-6530-1
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 262
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. List of Figures No access
3. List of Tables No access
4. Preface No access
5. Acknowledgments No access
1. Linkages No access
2. Why Legislators Communicate No access
3. Legislator Roles No access
4. Definitions No access
5. Systems Theory, Feedback Theory, and the Policy Process No access
6. Basic Feedback Theory No access
7. Viewing Policy Feedback Through an Applied Science Lens No access
8. Quantitative Research No access
9. Internal Instrument Measures No access
10. External Instrument Measures No access
11. Qualitative Research No access
12. Conclusion No access
13. Notes No access
1. Mature Communications No access
2. Qualitative Research No access
3. Legislator Interviews No access
4. Trust No access
5. Quantitative Analyses No access
6. Demographic, Political, and Institutional Effects No access
7. Constituent Communications No access
8. Mature Communication Technology Importance, Constituent Communications No access
9. Conclusion No access
10. Notes No access
1. Mass-Media Communications No access
2. Quantitative Analyses No access
3. Conclusion No access
4. Notes No access
1. Internet-Enabled Communications No access
2. Legislator Interviews No access
3. Bulk E-mail No access
4. E-mail Efficiency No access
5. E-mail Naturalness No access
6. E-mail Risks No access
7. E-mail Benefits No access
8. E-mail-Associated Legislator Behaviors No access
9. Quantitative Analyses No access
10. Constituent Communications No access
11. Conclusion No access
12. Notes No access
1. Importance of Communication Technologies No access
2. Frequency of Use of Communication Technologies No access
3. Comparing Constituent and Peer Communications, Mature Technologies No access
4. Comparing Constituent Communications to Peer Communications, IECT No access
5. Conclusion No access
6. Note No access
1. Legislative Roles No access
2. District Policy Conflict No access
3. Conclusion No access
4. Notes No access
1. Communication Technology and Political Polarization No access
2. Demographic, Political, and Institutional Polarization Effects No access
3. Communication Technology Polarization Effects No access
4. Conclusion No access
1. Feedback Path Attenuation No access
2. Mature Communications No access
3. Mass-Media Communications No access
4. Internet-Enabled Communications No access
5. Overview of Qualitative Analyses Results No access
6. Final Thoughts No access
Appendix No access Pages 241 - 244
References No access Pages 245 - 256
Index No access Pages 257 - 260
About the Author No access Pages 261 - 262