Becoming a Candidate: Political Ambition and the Decision to Run for Office
Jennifer L. Lawless
(Author)
Description
Becoming a Candidate: Political Ambition and the Decision to Run for Office explores the factors that drive political ambition at the earliest stages. Using data from a comprehensive survey of thousands of eligible candidates, Jennifer L. Lawless systematically investigates what compels certain citizens to pursue elective positions and others to recoil at the notion. Lawless assesses personal factors, such as race, gender, and family dynamics, that affect an eligible candidate's likelihood of considering a run for office. She also focuses on eligible candidates' professional lives and attitudes toward the political system.
Product Details
Price
$36.29
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publish Date
January 16, 2012
Pages
304
Dimensions
5.9 X 8.9 X 0.8 inches | 0.9 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9780521756600
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About the Author
Jennifer L. Lawless is an Associate Professor of Government at the American University, where she is also the Director of the Women and Politics Institute. She was previously a Professor at Brown University, with a courtesy appointment at the Taubman Center for Public Policy. Professor Lawless has published numerous articles in academic journals, such as the American Journal of Political Science, Perspectives, the Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Social Problems, and Politics and Gender. She is a nationally recognized speaker, and her scholarly analysis and political commentary have been quoted in various newspapers, magazines, television news programs, and radio shows.
Reviews
"Jennifer L. Lawless, in Becoming a Candidate, has masterfully tackled the puzzle of what stimulates ambitions for political office. She challenges us to look beyond the standard explanations that center on the structure of opportunities for political office to consider broader professional, social, and political influences. This is the first study of its kind to separately explore the differences between nascent ambition, the first germ of interest in holding office, and expressive ambition, the actual choice to run for office. The innovative research design allows a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of thousands of men and women holding careers in law, business, education, and politics, careers that serve as common stepping stones to political office. By exploring how their experiences shaped their perceptions of politics and public office, and how these views evolved over time, she enlightens us about the future of political leadership in America."
Cherie Maestas, Florida State University
"The hard work of systematically measuring the origins of ambition for public office has been beyond the ken of political scientists - until now. In Becoming a Candidate, Jennifer L. Lawless successfully tackles one of the toughest research problems in modern politics - tracing the origins of political ambition and learning how potential candidates act on it. This book is the first effort to delve systematically into the choice to become a candidate, and it does so successfully with a combination of rigorous analysis and rich narrative. All students of campaign politics must have this excellent book in their personal library."
Keith Gaddie, The University of Oklahoma, author of Born to Run: Origins of the Political Career
Using survey and interview data, Lawless analyzes factors that influence nascent political ambition in order to predict why people decide to run for political office. Summing Up: Highly recommended.
J. E. Walsh, Choice
Becoming a Candidate provides an extensive and unmatched look at the development of political ambition. This book makes significant contributions to our understanding of candidate emergence, representation of race and gender, political socialization, and why who seeks office matters for the functioning of American democracy, making it a must-read for scholars working in these fields.
Melody Crowder-Meyer, American Review of Politics
This is an impressive book that clearly illustrates that ambition is a dynamic and highly nuanced two-stage process: considering candidacy and deciding to run. For the scholar, there is much to ponder. For the teacher, the book is filled with many illustrative anecdotes and personal stories that make the findings accessible to a wide range of students. For the activist concerned about the quality of representation, Lawless identifies important challenges.
Cindy Simon Rosenthal, Congress and the Presidency
Cherie Maestas, Florida State University
"The hard work of systematically measuring the origins of ambition for public office has been beyond the ken of political scientists - until now. In Becoming a Candidate, Jennifer L. Lawless successfully tackles one of the toughest research problems in modern politics - tracing the origins of political ambition and learning how potential candidates act on it. This book is the first effort to delve systematically into the choice to become a candidate, and it does so successfully with a combination of rigorous analysis and rich narrative. All students of campaign politics must have this excellent book in their personal library."
Keith Gaddie, The University of Oklahoma, author of Born to Run: Origins of the Political Career
Using survey and interview data, Lawless analyzes factors that influence nascent political ambition in order to predict why people decide to run for political office. Summing Up: Highly recommended.
J. E. Walsh, Choice
Becoming a Candidate provides an extensive and unmatched look at the development of political ambition. This book makes significant contributions to our understanding of candidate emergence, representation of race and gender, political socialization, and why who seeks office matters for the functioning of American democracy, making it a must-read for scholars working in these fields.
Melody Crowder-Meyer, American Review of Politics
This is an impressive book that clearly illustrates that ambition is a dynamic and highly nuanced two-stage process: considering candidacy and deciding to run. For the scholar, there is much to ponder. For the teacher, the book is filled with many illustrative anecdotes and personal stories that make the findings accessible to a wide range of students. For the activist concerned about the quality of representation, Lawless identifies important challenges.
Cindy Simon Rosenthal, Congress and the Presidency
