Maxwell School News and Commentary

“Research Note: Does Despair in Young Adulthood Predict Mortality?” co-authored by Iliya Gutin, research assistant professor in the Center for Policy Research and the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, was published in Demography.

“The public is not enthusiastic about a depreciating currency, even if that means more exports. This implies that a core component of a Mar-a-Lago Accord—a sustained weakening of the dollar—could pose political risks for Trump,” writes Professor of Political Science Daniel McDowell and his co-author, David Steinberg.

Robert S. Terrell, assistant professor of history, has written A Nation Fermented: Beer, Bavaria, and the Making of Modern Germany (Oxford University Press, 2024). Terrell traces how brewing practices in Germany’s southern region of Bavaria became associated with the nation as a whole from the late 19th to the end of the 20th century.

“The U.S. has long used tariffs to collect revenue, aid manufacturing and exert power,” says Andrew Cohen, professor of history. “But I can’t think of a trade war initiated so randomly in a time of peace and prosperity.”

Senator Booker's speech is intended to “bring attention to the threat that Booker and Democrats argue that Donald Trump poses to the health of American democracy and the welfare of the American public and be a rallying cry for other Democrats to act boldly with whatever means they have,” says Shana Gadarian, professor of political science.

“In my experience from the standpoint of having served as an appointee in the Pentagon and as secretary of the Navy, using such an unsecured channel to coordinate plans is unheard of and would never have occurred in previous administrations,” says University Professor Sean O'Keefe.

Today, pass-through funding allows federal agencies to tap into local expertise and knowledge as well as help the federal government keep its own staffing levels down, says Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs.

This April 2025 Research to Practice Brief summarizes "Evidence-based practices and US state government civil servants: Current use, challenges, and pathways forward," co-authored by Yuan (Daniel) Cheng, Leslie Thompson, Shuping Wang, Jules Marzec, Chengxin Xu, Weston Merrick, and Patrick Carter in Public Administration Review.

“Africa’s newest state has remained trapped in a cycle of civil unrest and perpetual peace agreements that have not translated into real peace for its citizens. As it stands, all indications are that the fragile peace is in danger, as President Salva Kiir has ordered the house arrest of his rival, Vice President Riek Machar,” says Jok Madut Jok, professor of anthropology.

“There are people whose lives are literally on the line, whether that's service personnel, whether that's intelligence personnel,” says Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs. “These guys are supposed to be leaders of the free world, the responsible leaders of the military, the greatest country in the world, and they can't perform basic operational security.”