The decline and resurgence of congressional party conflict

Studies of party conflict on roll-call votes emphasize the political and structural contexts for party voting. Postwar congressional parties also worked in a macroeconomic policy context. Party conflict diminished when either unemployment or inflation was an isolated problem as the parties converged toward Keynesian solutions. The collapse of Keynesian notions in the stagflation of the 1970s stimulated party conflict. An examination of all budget-related roll-call votes in the House of Representatives from 1947 to 1990 shows that congressional party conflict has political, structural, and macroeconomic roots. To explain the level of party conflict, analysts must place parties in the context of major political settlements like that of the 1930s.