Political Science News

Keck discusses the history of packing the Supreme Court on C-SPAN

Thomas Keck, Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics, spoke to C-SPAN about the history of efforts to pack the Supreme Court. "The size of the court is not specified in the constitution and it's changed multiple times …. in the first 100 years it was a regular occurrence for Congress to change the size of the Supreme Court," says Keck.

Pralle quoted in CBS News article on flooding in Midwest

Flooding is "a critical national issue that must be addressed more aggressively in an age of climate change," says Sarah Pralle, associate professor of political science. Pralle was interviewed for the CBS News article "Midwest flood damage will likely total more than $1 billion."

Faricy publishes paper on social spending attitudes, benefits delivery

"Race, 'Deservingness,' and Social Spending Attitudes: The Role of Policy Delivery Mechanism," co-authored by Christopher Faricy, was published in Political Behavior. Faricy and co-author Christopher Ellis found that "social benefits delivered through the tax code are less likely to trigger racialized thinking than similar or identical benefits delivered directly."

Gadarian article on how information helps voters published in UAR

"Voting Can Be Hard, Information Helps," co-authored by Shana Gadarian, was published in Urban Affairs Review. Americans are often faced with low-information conditions when voting. The authors found that in these conditions, voters use candidates’ race, ethnicity, and gender as cues for whom to support — penalizing candidates of color and benefiting women.

Reeher weighs in on Pelosi's comments about impeachment in The Hill

Grant Reeher was interviewed for The Hill article "The Memo: GOP seizes on Pelosi's position on impeachment." Referring to the divisions within the Democratic Party, Reeher says, "It’s a discussion between some of the Democrats who may have a better sense of strategic thinking about the election and the ones who think there are good reasons to be going forward with impeachment, [for whom] it’s the principle of the thing."

Elizabeth Cohen discusses restrictionist immigration in The Atlantic

"Above all other unintended consequences of immigration engineering has been the flourishing of undocumented immigration," writes Elizabeth Cohen, associate professor of political science. Cohen's article, "What Immigration Restrictionists Can’t Foresee," was published in The Atlantic.

Boroujerdi piece on Iran's Chief Justice published by Atlantic Council

"Ebrahim Raisi: Iran’s New Chief Justice and Possible Supreme Leader in Waiting," written by Mehrzad Boroujerdi, was published in the Atlantic Council blog. "Raisi is indisputably well versed in judicial affairs," writes Boroujerdi. "However, the non-judicial parts of his resume are also eye-catching and suggest that his elevation to head of the judiciary may be a prelude to ultimate authority in the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Faricy weighs in on Democratic tax proposals in Bloomberg

Democratic tax proposals are simply a "stealth attack" on the preferential rate for capital gains, says Christopher Faricy, associate professor of political science. He was interviewed for the Bloomberg story "Bill Gates Spells Out Democrats’ Tax Plans as a Capital Gains Hike."

Bybee discusses civility in current political times on NPR

Professor Keith Bybee, author of How Civility Works, was interviewed on NPR for the segment "Examining Civility In A Time Of Deepening Political Divisions." "The real question is not what is creating the sense of civility crisis today," says Bybee, "but instead, given our long history of rudeness, what makes us think we can get along at all?"

Keck discusses the problems facing the voting rights bill in Wash Post

"These are the roadblocks to the Democrats’ big voting rights bill," written by Thomas Keck, was published in the Washington Post. Keck explores the issues the H.R. 1 bill — intended to expand voting rights, clean up campaign finance, and tighten government ethics — will face in Congress and a Republican-dominated Supreme Court.

Boroujerdi weighs in on Iran's foreign ministry in Foreign Affairs

"Javad Zarif Returns—to a Foreign Ministry Still Out in the Cold," written by Professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi, was published in Foreign Affairs. According to Boroujerdi, the resignation of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif "points to the fact that the ministry supposedly in charge of steering Iranian foreign policy is structurally in competition with powerful coteries that encroach upon its territory."

Gueorguiev featured in China Daily article on China's development

"I think China is pragmatic and patient in its dialogue with the US and other major trading partners," says Dimitar Gueorguiev, assistant professor political science. "China has an interest in finding ways to reduce instabilities and inequalities." Gueorguiev was interviewed for the China Daily article "Patience in negotiations commendable."

Boroujerdi discusses Iran's financial help for Syria in Arab Weekly

"Iran does not have the means to seriously help with Syria’s reconstruction," says Professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi. "[In late February] Iranian officials announced they will build 200,000 homes in Syria but in the larger scheme of things this is relatively little." Boroujerdi was interviewed for the Arab Weekly article "Despite Assad’s welcome, Iran can be of little help to Damascus."

Gueorguiev discusses North Korea, US-China trade in Wash Examiner

"The Trump administration, more so than any previous administration, has been willing to link security and economic issues," says Dimitar Gueorguiev. "You could make the argument that going too quick on the trade negotiations reduced the leverage on the North Korea negotiations." Read more in the Washington Examiner article "China loses leverage with Trump as North Korea talks stall."

Faricy comments on tax cuts, refunds in Bloomberg

Chris Faricy, associate professor of political science, was interviewed for the Bloomberg article "Amount of Tax Refunds Up Slightly While Fewer Receive Checks." "You can tell people you gave them a tax cut," says Faricy. "But if they don’t believe it and their refunds are smaller, it’s a hard sell politically."

McDowell discusses Trump, China's exchange rate policy in Wash Post

Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science, co-authored a piece for the Washington Post's Monkey Cage blog on the Trump administration's decision to introduce exchange rate policy into its ongoing trade negotiations with China. A forthcoming study with Dimitar Gueorguiev, assistant professor of political science, is highlighted in the article.

Barkun quoted in Business Insider article on conspiracy films

Michael Barkun, professor emeritus of political science, was interviewed for the Business Insider article "Amazon and Hulu's algorithms are recommending conspiracy theory films, and the consequences could be more serious than you might think." Barkun says the biggest risk associated with conspiracy theories is "people taking action on the basis of false and dangerous beliefs."

Banks, Bybee quoted in TIME's State of the Union fact check

William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs, and Keith Bybee, professor of political science, were interviewed for the TIME article "Here Are the Facts Behind President Trump's Biggest State of the Union Claims."

Estévez-Abe quoted in NYT article on work-life balance in Japan

Margarita Estévez-Abe, associate professor of political science, was interviewed for the New York Times article "Japan’s Working Mothers: Record Responsibilities, Little Help From Dads." "If the work day could be shortened in Japan, I think a younger generation of men would do more as fathers," says Estévez-Abe.

Boroujerdi discusses Europe's trade vehicle with Iran in ThinkProgress

Mehrzad Boroujerdi was interviewed for the ThinkProgress article "Europe sidesteps U.S., creates new vehicle to continue doing trade with Iran." Boroujerdi says it's unclear how effective it will be. "Based on the reservations expressed by major corporations, I doubt that too many big European firms would be willing to deal with Iran through this channel," he says.

Faricy quoted in TIME article on the American Family Act

Christopher Faricy was interviewed for the TIME article "Democrats' New Plan for Poor Parents: Give Them $300 a Month." The plan, known as the American Family Act, would revise and expand the existing Child Tax Credit. Faricy says that tax-based benefits are typically more popular than other cash assistance programs.

Gueorguiev discusses shutdown, China trade talks in Wash Examiner

According to Dimitar Gueorguiev, assistant professor of political science, the shutdown hurt the president "because in the end, he blinked." Gueorguiev was interviewed for the Washington Examiner article "Trump's handling of the shutdown may have weakened his hand in China trade talks."

Thorson weighs in on the issue of sharing fake news in PBS article

Emily Thorson was interviewed for the PBS NewsHour article "How conservative ‘supersharers’ drove fake news in the 2016 election." "Most people are not being inundated with fake news," says Thorson. "That is not to say that this isn’t a problem, but I don’t think this is the magnitude of a problem that people often think it is."

Gadarian weighs in on Trump's recall of federal employees in US News

"What this is doing is to try and get the public to not notice, to smooth over some of the bumps we'll see if the shutdown continues much longer,"says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science. Gadarian was interviewed for the U.S. News & World Report article "Faced With Bad Optics, Trump Recalls Workers."

McDowell paper on China's bilateral swap agreements published

"The (Ineffective) Financial Statecraft of China's Bilateral Swap Agreements," written by Daniel McDowell, was published in Development and Change as part of a special issue titled, "Beyond Bretton Woods: Complementarity and Competition in the International Economic Order"

PhD student Uğur Altundal cited in Newsweek article on passports

Research by Uğur Altundal, a PhD student in political science at the Maxwell School, was cited in the Newsweek article "Ranked: The World's Least Powerful Passports in 2019." "Despite the important progress made in overall global mobility," Altundal and co-author Omer Zarpli write, "there remains a significant ‘global mobility divide’, with some passports much more powerful than others."

Elizabeth Cohen quoted in PolitiFact article on ICE arrests for murder

Elizabeth Cohen helps PolitiFact debunk a Facebook post that claims that in 2017, ICE arrested 2,000 undocumented immigrants for murder. The 2,028 figure "does not refer to 2,028 suspected or convicted criminals," says Cohen. "It refers to how many times a conviction or suspicion was the reason for arrest. If one person was suspected of five separate crimes, that would contribute five separate times to the overall tally in that table."

Taylor weighs in on Whelan spy case on Australia's ABC radio

Brian Taylor was interviewed on Australia's ABC radio regarding the detention of former US Marine Paul Whelan in Russia. "At the moment I would lean towards an explanation that has much more to do with what's going on in terms of the FSB [Federal Security Service] . . . rather than some massive plot organized by the Russian government."

Zoli analyzes immigration debate on WAER

Corri Zoli, research assistant professor of political science, was interviewed on WAER for the segment "SU National Security Researcher Takes Fact-Based Approach to Charged Immigration Debate." Zoli says the political dynamics on both sides are counter-productive to arriving at a more permanent solution for the southern border.

Sezgin awarded NEH fellowship to study democratization of Islamic laws

Yüksel Sezgin has received a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) fellowship, supporting research into the complex interplay between democracy and Muslim Family Laws (MFLs) in non-uslim-majority countries. He will use the $60,000 fellowship to work on a book-length comparative study of the democratization of Islamic laws in Greece, Ghana, India and Israel.

Sezgin quoted in Washington Times article on Shariah law, Greek courts

Yüksel Sezgin was interviewed for the Washington Times article "Muslim widow caught between Sharia law, Greek courts in legal drama." "For a long time, it was in the interests of the Greek government to maintain Shariah for the Turkish-speaking minority because it emphasized their religious identity more than their ethnic and linguistic [Turkish] identity,” says Sezgin.

Taylor's Code of Putinism makes War on the Rocks 2018 reading list

Brian Taylor's recently published book, The Code of Putinism (Oxford University Press, 2018), appears on the 2018 War on the Rocks Holiday Reading List. The book is described as "an essential guide for understanding Russian decision making beyond mere cable news talking points."

Reeher weighs in on Bloomberg run in 2020 in The Hill

Grant Reeher spoke with The Hill about former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg's potential run for president as a Democrat in 2020. "The question is, Can he walk into a diner in Iowa and connect with voters?" Reeher says. "It might be a challenge."

Keck provides insight on court-packing battles to come in Wash Post

"The new Democratic majority in the House spells big trouble for President Trump," says Thomas Keck. "But it also could be the first step in unmaking his longer legacy, particularly when it comes to the Supreme Court." Read more in Keck's article "The Supreme Court justices control whether court-packing ever happens," published in the Washington Post.

Is Trumpism coming to an end? Reeher discusses in Washington Monthly

Grant Reeher was interviewed for the Washington Monthly article "The Midterms Were Not the Beginning of the End of Trumpism." "Polarization is many decades in the making and won’t go away with Trump,” says Reeher. "He’s merely exacerbated it."

Maxwell's first-ever Huxley scholar has found her intellectual home

From the moment Brielle Valenza stepped foot in the Maxwell Auditorium as a first-year student, she knew she had come to the right place. "The sense of history in that room is palpable."

Reeher quoted in Democrat &Chronicle article on House Dems, Trump

Grant Reeher was interviewed for the Democrat & Chronicle article "U.S. Congress: How Democrats will fight Trump with fellow New Yorkers." "If there are going to be deals between the House of Representatives and the president, one of the main places will be in the budget, so the appropriations committee will have a big role," Reeher says.

Barkun writes about failed prophecies, Trump in Foreign Policy

"Failed Prophecies Won’t Stop Trump’s True Believers," written by Professor Emeritus Michael Barkun, was published in Foreign Policy. Barkun discusses how conspiracy theorists are bringing apocalyptic beliefs into the political mainstream and examines the willingness of people to stay loyal to their beliefs even in the face of a world that contradicts them.

Bybee discusses post-election well-being with Thrive Global

Keith Bybee was interviewed for the Thrive Global article "5 Ways To Prioritize Your Well-Being After the Election." No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, accept your temporary defeats and get involved in local or national affairs, says Bybee. Studies indicate that volunteering — participating in a cause greater than yourself — is a surefire way to boost your well-being.

Reeher discusses impact of Dems winning NY State Senate in AP

Democratic lawmakers, Grant Reeher says, "have already made pledges to constituents about what their agenda will be. Now it’s real. I think the governor is going to be put in the position of applying the brakes on some of these things." Read more in the Associated Press article "NY Senate win gives Democrats a lock on Albany. So now what?"

Gadarian weighs in on Dem House win, Mueller probe in WFAA article

Shana Gadarian spoke with WFAA about what the Democratic win in the House means for the Mueller investigation. "All of this language about fake news and ‘you can’t trust the FBI,’ all of that is setting up a scenario where the Mueller investigation comes out and (Trump) says ‘it’s not to be believed’ and that Mueller is just working for the Democrats."

Griffiths paper on independence referendum in New Caledonia published

Ryan Griffiths, associate professor of political science, discusses the recent binding referendum on independence in New Caledonia in his article "New Caledonia Vote Shows Difficulty of Winning Independence, And Lessons for Others," published in the International Peace Institute's Global Observatory.

Gadarian discusses negative political ads on WRVO

Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, was interviewed for the WRVO segment "Negative political ads up 60 percent from 2014, but can engage, inform voters." "You actually learn more from negative ads than you do from positive ads because they do tend to focus more on policy and votes," says Gadarian.

Keck talks about grassroots voting efforts with WRVO

Thomas Keck was interviewed for the WRVO segment "Anger over Trump presidency pushing more grassroots voting efforts." "Often grassroots organizing on the left doesn’t have much of an electoral focus. Right? And this year there is a lot of an electoral focus," says Keck. "I think that is new and distinctive and that is going to impact the elections."

Reeher discusses NY midterm elections with regional media outlets

Grant Reeher was interviewed by several regional media outlets about the 2018 midterm elections in New York State. "If there was a year in which I'd be suspicious of polling numbers, this would be it,” Reeher told CNY Central. "The reason is that the models of likely voters have to come from somewhere, and usually they use previous midterms. 2018 is nothing like 2014."

Reeher weighs in on impact of Obama on midterm elections in The Hill

Grant Reeher was quoted in The Hill article "The Memo: Obama makes midterm push to protect legacy." "Is it going to help? Yes. Is it going to help a lot? I don’t think so, given the country is so polarized," says Reeher. "But it could help get people who would vote Democratic anyway to actually turn up."

Gadarian talks about negative political ads on Spectrum News

Shana Gadarian was interviewed on Spectrum News for the segment "So You Don't Like Negative Ads? So Why Do They Work on You?" "People don't tend to like negative ads," says Gadarian, "but one of the things we know about negative ads is they have more policy information than positive ads which tend to be more about the candidate's background.

Stonecash quoted in Politico article on divide in the Democratic Party

Jeffrey Stonecash was interviewed for the Politico article "The Democrats’ Culture Divide." The highly educated, richer professionals of the Democratic Party "are aware they are building barriers around who succeeds and who doesn’t," says Stonecash. "A lot of people disparage all of this, but a lot of white guilt is built around the fact that the world can be unfair."

Zoli speaks with Spectrum News about political terrorism

Corri Zoli, research assistant professor of political science, was interviewed for the Spectrum News segment "Are Recent Suspicious Packages an Act of Political Terrorism?" "This is the problem with polarization," says Zoli. "You get these kind of escalating dynamics...clearly this is an expression of partisanship gone awry."

Elizabeth Cohen defines sanctuary areas in PolitiFact article

Elizabeth Cohen was quoted in the PolitiFact article "Senate Leadership Fund distorts Heidi Heitkamp's record on immigration." According to Cohen, "The one common theme to sanctuary areas is not that they release criminals onto the streets, but that they will not do the work that is the responsibility of the federal enforcement agencies."

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