Baum persuasively illustrates the underlying complexity of ideology as not just a product of justices' values, but of the way justices' decisions are affected by social and political groups as well. According to Baum, by giving more attention to group affect as a source of polarity, scholars can gain a richer sense of ideology as an element in decision making ... Read morein the Supreme Court.
Choice Baum provides a fascinating look at the evolution of ideology on the Supreme Court by exploring historical linkages between issue positions and ideology across issues. . . . His book is smart and will influence this conversation for a long time.
-Michael A. Bailey, Perspectives on Politics Excellent and provocative. . . . I strongly recommend this book for all students of the Supreme Court.
-Thomas G. Hansford, Law and Politics Book Review Winner of the 2018 C. Herman Pritchett Award, Law and Courts Section, American Political Science Association Baum offers a unique perspective on the Supreme Court. He makes a compelling case for reconsidering our traditional understanding of ideological voting on the Court, suggesting that justices' votes may be determined by their disposition toward particular litigants. Presenting a challenging new way to think about decision making on the Court, this is an important book.
Kevin T. McGuire, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Close observers of the Supreme Court know that sometimes its conservatives and liberals flip sides. Using the examples of free speech, criminal law, and takings, with glances at other topics, Lawrence Baum develops a systematic account of why and how these shifts occur. In doing so, he deepens our understanding of how ideology
apart from political theories and preferences about outcomes
shapes the Court's decisions.
Mark Tushnet, Harvard Law School Very good scholars answer important questions that no one has answered before. Truly great scholars answer questions that no one has asked before. Such is the case with Lawrence Baum's Ideology in the Supreme Court. Using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods, Baum has written a thought-provoking book that clearly demonstrates that ideological polarity does not flow only from logical premises, but rather that, consistent with psychological theories of human behavior, group affect plays a substantial role.

Jeffrey A. Segal, Stony Brook University It is common, and surely correct, to note that Supreme Court justices often vote ideologically. It is also common, and also surely correct, to note that it is not as simple as that. Baum takes this as a starting point to explore just how
in a world in which ideological coalitions shape so many things
ideology permeates judicial decision making.
Hans Noel, author of Political Ideologies and Political Parties in America Show Less