Maxwell School News and Commentary

Professor Mary Lovely spoke with the New York Times, the Washington Examiner and the Washington Post about U.S. sanctions on Russia and the implications for Russia.

In an increasingly polarized political climate, Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher says the "friends and neighbors" effect of politics hasn't been so effective in recent cycles, and that it's unclear how strongly that message can sway voters in 2020. 

Leonard Burman, Paul Volcker Chair in Behavioral Economics, identifies that the major problem entailed by Senator Elizabeth Warren's "Medicare for all" proposal is that it would not be just a marginal tax on the 50th employee, but instead would apply to all previously hired employees.

"If differentiating the Huawei issue into trade and security strands makes it politically more palatable for the Trump administration to make a limited deal that lifts the ban on non-security related Huawei transactions, it is hard to see what the Chinese side stands to gain from not playing along," says Dimitar Gueorguiev, assistant professor of political science.

Dimitar Gueorguiev talks to Washington Examiner about the Trump administrations missteps to US relationships with North Korea, by pushing an effort to sign a trade deal with China. "The Trump administration, more so than any previous administration, has been willing to link security and economic issues," says Gueorguiev.

"What the shutdown reveals is that the Trump administration does not have a very specific game plan for what it wants," says Dimitar Gueorguiev, assistant professor of political science. "So what it is going to do is to give the Chinese negotiators reason to pause and wonder whether any sort of deal they reach would credibly exist in the future."

"Certainly, he [President Trump] won't be shy about using executive powers—that will be the same—but Obama also used his remaining time, especially in his second term, to exercise the rhetorical presidency," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"In this instance, the negative reaction President Trump has generated throughout the Western World may complicate the situation," says Grant Reeher, director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. "Being Trump's ambassador, say, in Norway or Denmark, is going to be trickier than in past administrations, requiring greater skill and deftness."