Cooperation in Polarized Legislatures: Learning from the Case of the Texas State House of Representatives

This article written by political scientist Michelle Taylor-Robinson and anthropologist Emma Crewe is about co-operative and polarised politics in Texas. Political work requires alliance building, but antagonism and divisions dominate legislatures and society in many democracies. In Texas legislators are pulled in both directions simultaneously in surprising ways. We use the anthropological method of ethnography and the political science method of network analysis and show how their combination enhances understanding of cross-party cooperation among Representatives even when such work is not depicted in the media and may clash with expectations of constituents. More senior Representatives, Hispanic, African American, and Asian Representatives but not women, and Representatives who join a bipartisan caucus most often build networks across party lines. We explain how and why it is under threat.