Dealmakers: The Psychology of Legislative Compromise

Compromise is critical to democratic policymaking, but it can be hard to find on Capitol Hill. In this era of normalized gridlock, however, some politicians do still cross the aisle. In Dealmakers, David C. Barker, Andrew M.O. Ballard, and Christopher Jan Carman examine when this occurs and why the politicians that do so tend to be Democrats. The answer, the authors contend, comes down to partisan differences in personality and values among voters. Specifically, they suggest that empathetic traits and values drive Democrats to accept compromise, whereas competitive traits and values drive Republicans to reject it. As the authors show, these differences can filter up through the ballot box to the halls of Congress. Drawing on evidence from opinion surveys, randomized experiments, Twitter, and legislative transcripts, Dealmakers evaluates the train of openness, altruistic values, and other political and psychological factors that play a role in political compromise.

David C. Barker is Professor of Government at American University and Director of the Social and Economic Sciences Division at the National Science Foundation. He was previously Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies (2017-2024) at American University, where he co-founded the Program on Legislative Negotiation and the inter-university New Perspectives in Studies of American Governance program. He is the author or coauthor of over 80 publications, including four books: Rushed to Judgment (2002), Representing Red and Blue (Oxford, 2012), One Nation, Two Realities (Oxford, 2019), and The Politics of Truth in Polarized America (Oxford, 2021).

Andrew M.O. Ballard is Associate Professor of Political Science at Florida State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University and previously was Assistant Professor of Government at American University. His research on lawmaking, the behavior of political parties in legislatures and elections, congressional communications, and public opinion have been published in the American Political Science Review, The Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and more.

Christopher Jan Carman is the Stevenson Professor of Citizenship at the University of Glasgow, where he has served as Dean of the School of Social and Political Sciences and Head of Department of Politics and International Relations. As Stevenson Professor, he oversees the Stevenson Lecture series and programmes, which have been running for over 100 years. His research on political representation and participation, elections, and public opinion has been published in several books, including Representing Red and Blue (Oxford, 2012), More Scottish than British? The Scottish Parliament Elections of 2011 (2014), and The Referendum That Changed aNation: Scottish Voting Behaviour 2014-2019 (2022), amongst others.