When the founders of the United States crafted our founding document, the U.S. Constitution, they were creating a novel form of government that was designed to place power in the hands of people — or at least some people at the time — and they designed it in such a way as to try to strike a power balance between three fundamental branches in order to prevent absolute power from falling into the hands of one person, or one group of people.
They also created a system that gave more power to those who were in the minority than had ever been seen before. And as other democracies were created around the world, few, if any, of them were set up with this dynamic that gave power — or at least the potential for political power — to groups that were in the minority. But most political science work has been focused on how parties that are in the majority function and wield political power.
We talk with a political scientist who has been collaborating on a project to explore how minority parties are able to accomplish their goals. Dr. Andrew Ballard is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Florida State University. His forthcoming book, which is still in pre-publication with a working title of “Minority Party Capacity in Congress” distills research that he, and his co-author Jim Curry, have been doing that looks at U.S. Congressional power dynamics in history to see just how minority parties approach getting their goals into legislation, or in some cases obstruct the majority party’s efforts.
Dr. Ballard was on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus on Feb. 27, 2025 to give a talk as part of the university’s Provost’s Seminar Series. He also spoke with the Naples Discussion Group while he was in Southwest Florida.
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