Research/Publications
Professor Alan Rosenthal and State Legislatures
Eagleton’s Professor Alan Rosenthal, (highlight name so it’s a link to his bio) is among the nation’s leading scholars on state legislatures. In his more than forty-year career, Professor Rosenthal has worked in collaboration with legislatures in 35 states. He directed comprehensive organizational studies of legislatures in eight states, served as an ethics consultant to nine state legislatures and published defining works on the mechanics of the legislative branch.
Under Professor Rosenthal’s direction, Eagleton’s work on state legislatures has examined:- Representation: How, and how well, do Americans get represented in our state political systems?
- Executive Legislative Reforms: How and to what extent do legislatures check and balance the executive in a separation-of-powers system?
- Legislative Ethics: How are legislatures and legislators performing in terms of ethical conduct?
- Civic Education on Representative Democracy: What should students at all levels learn about the role of legislatures in representative democracy?
- Legislative Reform: What are the main problems legislatures face today, and what new reforms offer the greatest promise?
List of Research and Publications
BOOKSStrengthening the Maryland Legislature. New Brunswick, Rutgers University
Press, 1968.
Pedagogues and Power: Teacher Groups in School Politics. Syracuse: Syracuse
University Press, 1969.
Legislative Performance in the States: Explorations of Committee Behavior.
New York: Free Press, 1974.
Legislative Life: People, Process, and Performance in the States. New York: Harper
and Row, 1981.
Governors and Legislatures: Contending Powers. Washington, D.C.: CQ
Press, 1990.
The Third House: Lobbyists and Lobbying in the States. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press,
1993. Revised edition, 2001.
Drawing the Line: Legislative Ethics in the States. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of
Nebraska Press, 1996.
The Decline of Representative Democracy: Process, Participation, and Power in State
Legislatures. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1998.
Republic on Trial: The Case for Representative Democracy, with Burdett Loomis, John
Hibbing, and Karl Kurtz. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2003.
Heavy Lifting: The Job of the American Legislature. CQ Press, 2004.
Engines of Democracy: Politics and Policymaking in State Legislatures. CQ Press,
2009.
EDITED BOOKS
Strengthening the States, with Donald G. Herzberg. New York: Doubleday, 1971;
Anchor Books Edition, 1972.
Politics in New Jersey, with John Blydenburgh. New Brunswick, New Jersey:
Eagleton Institute of Politics, 1975.
Politics in New Jersey, revised edition, with Richard Lehne. New Brunswick, New
Jersey: Eagleton Institute of Politics, 1979.
Impurely Academic. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Books, 1980.
The Political Life of the American States, with Maureen Moakley. New York:
Praeger, 1984.
SELECTIONS IN BOOKS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS
State and Local Government. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1961. Pp. 62-75.
"Pedagogues and Power: A Descriptive Survey," in Marilyn Gittell, editor,
Educating an Urban Population. Beverly Hills: Sage, 1967. Pp. 185-204.
"Pedagogues and Power," in Alan Rosenthal, editor, Governing Education. New
York: Doubleday Anchor, 1969. Pp. 291-313.
"Administrator-Teacher Relations: Harmony or Conflict," in Michael W. Kirst,
editor, The Politics of Education at the Local, State and Federal Levels. Berkeley:
McCutchan, 1970. Pp. 90-100.
"New Voices in Public Education," in Michael W. Kirst, editor, The Politics of Education
at the Local, State and Federal Levels. Berkeley: McCutchan, 1970. Pp. 101-110.
"The Consequences of Legislative Staffing" in Donald Herzberg and Alan
Rosenthal, editors, Strengthening the States. New York: Doubleday, 1971.
Pp. 75-88.
"Strategic Problems in Legislative Improvements," in Donald Herzberg and Alan
Rosenthal, editors, Strengthening the States. New York: Doubleday, 1971.
Pp. 175-189.
"Teacher Militancy," in The Encyclopedia of Education. New York: Macmillan
and Free Press, 1971. Volume 9, pp. 36-43.
"The Effectiveness of Congress," in Gerald M. Pomper et al., The Performance
of American Government. New York: Free Press, 1972. Pp. 116-162.
"The Congressional Institution," in Gerald M. Pomper et al., The Performance
of American Government. New York: Free Press, 1972. Pp. 163-192.
"State Legislative Committees: A Review and Some Proposals for Congress," in
Working Papers on House Committee Organization and Operation, Select Committee
on Committees, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-Third Congress, June 1973.
"Contemporary Research on State Legislatures: From Individual Cases to
Comparative Analysis," American Political Science Association, Political Science and
State and Local Government. Washington, D.C.: The Association, 1973. Pp. 55-85.
"Professional Staff and Legislative Strength: The Case of Wisconsin," in
James A. Robinson, editor, State Legislative Innovation. New York: Praeger, 1973.
Pp. 183-225.
"Legislative Control Problems for Legislatures and Their Staffs," Yearbook of the
National Conference of State Legislative Leaders, December 1974. Pp. 15-24.
"Energy-Schmenergy--The Problem is Putting Information to Work," Report of the
OMB Study Committee on Policy Management Assistance, v. III. Washington, D.C.:
Research Applications Directorate, National Science Foundation, 1975.
Pp. 331-359.
"The Governor, the Legislature, and Policy-Making," in Alan Rosenthal and John
Blydenburgh, editors, Politics in New Jersey. New Brunswick, New Jersey:
Eagleton Institute of Politics, 1975. Pp. 141-174.
"The New Jersey Legislature: The Contemporary Shape of an Historical Institution;
Not Yet Good But Better Than It Used to Be," in William C. Wright, editor, The
Development of the New Jersey Legislature from Colonial Times to the Present.
Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1976, pp. 72-119.
"Legislative Control," in Legislators and the Legislative Process, Presentations of the
First Institute for Kansas Legislators, Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas,
March 1976. Pp. 17-23.
"Sunset, Darkness, or Just Cloudy Skies: In Defense of Legislators, Bureaucrats and
Other Forms of Humanity," in Sunset in Perspective: A Critical Analysis. New York
State Assembly, February 1978. Pp. 76-84.
"Assessment in State Government," in W. Williams Stevens, Jr. et al., editors, State
Government and Politics in the Secondary Curriculum. Springfield, Illinois: Sangamon
State University, 1978, Pp. 70-84.
"The Governor, the Legislature and State Policy Making," in Richard Lehne and
Politics in New Jersey, revised edition. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Eagleton
Institute of Politics, 1979. Pp. 139-168.
"Legislative Behavior and Legislative Oversight," in Frederick S. Lane, editor,
Current Issues in Public Administration, second edition. New York: St. Martin's
Press, 1982. Pp. 136-149.
"On Analyzing States," in Alan Rosenthal and Maureen Moakley, editors, The
Political Life of the American States. New York: Praeger, 1984. Pp. 1-29.
"The Legislature," in Gerald Pomper, editor, The Political State of New Jersey. New
Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1986.
"The New Legislature in the American States," in Robert J. Fleming, editor, Canadian
Legislatures: The 1986 Comparative Study. Toronto: Office of the Assembly, 1986.
Pp. 131-133.
"The State Legislature," in Clifford S. Russell and Tari Parkison Hunt, editors, The Resurgence of State Government, Vanderbilt Institute for Policy Studies, Summary Policy Papers, 1988. Pp. 17-20.
"The Legislative Institution: Transformed and at Risk," in Carl Van Horn, editor, The State of the States. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1989. Pp. 69-101.
"The Maryland Legislature: Separate but Not Quite Equal," in The Sense of the
People. Salisbury State University, October 7, 1989. Pp. 19-29.
Presentation, Washington State House of Representatives, Session on Legislative
Ethics, January 23, 1992. Pp. 51-63.
"The Effects of Term Limits on Legislatures: A Comment," in Gerald Benjamin
and Michael J. Malbin, editors, Limiting Legislative Terms. Washington, D.C.:
CQ Press, 1992. Pp. 205-208.
"The Legislative Institution--In Transition and at Risk," in Carl Van Horn, editor,
2d. ed., The State of the States. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1992. Pp. 115-148.
Testimony on Independent Ethics Commission, Hearing before the Joint Committee
on the Organization of Congress, 103 Cong., 1st Sess. (February 25, 1993).
Pp. 73-83.
"Reform in State Legislatures," in Joel H. Silbey, ed., Encyclopedia of the American
Legislative System. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994. Volume II,
pp. 837-854.
"Confessions of a Legislative Junkie," in The Link Between Public Universities and
State Capitals. California State University, Sacramento, April 14-16, 1993,
pp. 11-15.
"The Legislature's Sorry Image and How It Got That Way," in Jerry W. Calvert,
Legislature Reform and Representative Government in Montana. Burton K. Wheeler
Center, Montana State University. September 1993. Pp. 21-24.
“The Legislature: Unraveling of Institutional Fabric,” in Carl Van Horn, editor,
3rd ed., The State of the States. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 1996.
“Appearance’” as an Ethical Standard: Its Consequences for US State Legislatures.”
In Ethics and Political Practice: Perspectives on Legislative Ethics, ed. Noel Preston,
Charles Sampford, with C-A Bois. Annandale, Australia: The Federation
Press/Routledge, 1998. Pp. 25-40.
“Building Trust in Representative Democracy,” with Jan Goehring and Karl Kurtz, in
Sheilah Mann and John J. Patrick, editors, Education for Civic Engagement in
Democracy. ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education, 2000.
“Legislatures,” in International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences.
London: Pergamon, 2002.
“Legislatures,” with Rich Jones, The Book of the States. Lexington, KY: Council of
State Governments, 2002.
“Institutional Democracy and Public Disaffection,” in ed. Gerald M. Pomper and
Marc D. Weiner, ed., The Future of American Democratic Politics. New Brunswick,
NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2003 pp.126-140.
“Trends in Legislative Parties,” The Book of the States. Lexington, KY: Council of
State Governments, 2003.
“Trends in State Legislatures,” with Rich Jones, The Book of the States. Lexington,
KY: Council of State Governments, 2004.
“Introduction: Beyond Vermont’s Golden Dome,” in Ralph Wright, Inside the
Statehouse. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2005, pp. ix-xxi.
“The ‘Good’ Legislature,” The Book of the States 2005. Lexington, KY: Council of
State Governments, 2005, pp. 103-106.
“The Effects of Legislative Ethics Law,” in ed. Denis St. Martin and Fred Thompson,
Public Ethics and Governance: Standards and Practices in Comparative
Perspective. Oxford:Elsevier, 2006, pp. 155-178.
“Legislators and Legislatures,” in ed. Carl Van Horn, ed. State of the States, 4th ed.
Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2006.
“Education and Training of Legislators,” in ed. Karl T. Kurtz, Bruce Cain, and
Richard G. Niemi, Institutional Change in American Politics: The Case of Term Limits.
East Lansing, MI: University of Michigan Press,2007, pp. 165-216
“Living with Term Limits,” in ed. Rick Farmer, Christopher Z. Mooney, Richard J.
Powell, and John C. Green, Legislating Without Experience: Case Studies in State
Legislative Term Limits. Landham, MD: Lexington Books, 2007, pp.207-223.
“Teaching Democracy Appreciation,” with John R. Hibbing in ed. Beth C. Rubin and
James M. Giarelli, Civic Education for Diverse Citizens in Global Times.
NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2008, pp. 155-174
MONOGRAPHS
Toward Majority Rule in the U.S. Senate, an Eagleton Case Study. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1962.
The Interim Work of the Texas Senate. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Eagleton
Institute of Politics, June 1971.
Staffing the Ohio Legislature. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Eagleton Institute
of Politics, August 1972.
Legislative Priorities for Policy Assistance, edited with Randy Huwa. New
Brunswick, New Jersey: Eagleton Institute of Politics, March 1976.
Politicians and Professionals: Interactions Between Committee and Staff in
State Legislatures, with Randy Huwa. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Eagleton Institute of Politics, January 1977.
Legislative Education Leadership in the States, with Susan Fuhrman.
Washington, D.C.: Institute for Educational Leadership, 1981.
Shaping Education Policy in the States, edited with Susan Fuhrman.
Washington, D.C.: Institute for Educational Leadership, 1981.
The Ethics Process in State Legislatures: Developing Members in a Public Forum. Denver: National Conference of State Legislatures, 1999.
The Case for Representative Democracy: What Americans Should Know About Their
Legislatures, with Karl T. Kurtz, John Hibbing, and Burdett Loomis. Denver: National
Conference of State Legislatures, 2001.
Citizenship: A Challenge for All Generations, with Karl T. Kurtz and Cliff Zukin.
Denver: National Conference of State Legislatures, September 2003.
ARTICLES IN ACADEMIC JOURNALS
Large Cities," Sociology of Education, 39 (Fall 1966), pp. 359-380.
"Pedagogues and Power: A Descriptive Survey," Urban Affairs Quarterly, 2
(September 1966), pp. 83-102.
"New Voices in Public Education," Teachers College Record, 68 (October 1966),
pp. 13-20.
"Administrator-Teacher Relations: Harmony or Conflict?," Public Administration
Review, 27 (June 1967), pp. 154-161.
"An Analysis of Institutional Effects: Staffing Legislative Parties in Wisconsin,"
Journal of Politics, 32 (August 1970), pp. 531-562.
"Legislative Committee Systems: An Exploratory Analysis," Western Political
Quarterly, 26 (June 1973), pp. 252-262.
"Turnover in State Legislatures," American Journal of Political Science, 27
(August 1974), pp. 609-616.
"The Assembly Line: Law Production in the American States," with Rod Forth,
Legislative Studies Quarterly, 3 (May 1978), pp. 265-291.
"Legislative Behavior and Legislative Oversight," Legislative Studies Quarterly, 6
(February 1981), pp. 115-131.
"Legislative Education Staffing in the States," with Susan Fuhrman, Educational
Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 3 (July/August 1981), pp. 5-16.
"Higher Education Leadership in State Legislatures," with Susan Fuhrman,
Policy Studies Journal, 10 (September 1981), pp. 47-59.
"The State of State Legislatures: An Overview," Hofstra Law Review, 4 (Summer
1983), pp. 1185-1204.
"Working with Public Officials: Lessons from Experience," State and Local
Government Review, v. 17 (Fall 1985), pp. 257-264.
“State Legislative Development: Observations from Three Perspectives,” Legislative Studies Quarterly, 21 (May 1996), pp. 169-198.
ARTICLES IN OTHER JOURNALS
(Fall 1986), pp. 399-431.