Majority Rule Or Minority Will

Examines the influence of precedent on the behavior of the US Supreme Court justices.

Minority Rights, Majority Rule seeks to explain a phenomenon evident to most observers of the US Congress. In the House of Representatives, majority parties rule and minorities are seldom able to influence national policy making. In the Senate, minorities quite often call the shots, empowered by the filibuster to frustrate the majority. Why did the two chambers develop such distinctive legislative styles? Conventional wisdom suggests that differences in the size and workload of the House and Senate led the two chambers to develop very different rules of procedure. Sarah Binder offers an alternative, partisan theory to explain the creation and suppression of minority rights, showing that contests between partisan coalitions have throughout congressional history altered the distribution of procedural rights. Most importantly, new majorities inherit procedural choices made in the past. This institutional dynamic has fuelled the power of partisan majorities in the House but stopped them in their tracks in the Senate.

Examines minority governments to show they are not exceptional or unstable.

Majority rule is important in any well-functioning democracy. Students will be introduced to the concept using everyday examples that may also be applied to society more broadly. This book examines how majority rule can turn into the "tyranny of the majority" and why the minority should be protected. In addition, readers are shown that the majority decision is not always appropriate and that having a minority opinion is always important. After reading this book, students will understand the importance that majority rule holds in a democratic society while putting it in the proper context of respect for others' opinions, even if the majority disagrees.

The process of "cycling" divides majority coalitions and preserves democracy by preventing the "tyranny of the majority."

Today, many votes are decided by majority rules. Likewise, many people are protected by minority rights. This book examines both concepts, explains what they mean, what the Constitution says about them, and how they can be practiced in everyday situations.