John Wells Kingdon is Professor Emeritus and former Chair of Political Science at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. He is a graduate of Oberlin College

Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...

 and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...

 and was a Guggenheim fellow. He resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

.

Scholarly Influence

Kingdon is a specialist in American politics, and has written influential books such as "Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies", "Congressmen's Voting Decisions", and "America the Unusual".

Core Ideas

Kingdon argues that the structure of American political institutions, especially Congress, encourages fragmentation and splintering in American national governance. He also believes this occurs more in the United States than elsewhere.

Sources