Campbell Institute News

Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, was interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) for the Central Time segment "How To Spot And Fight Fake News." Thorson advises people to be wary of spreading fake news just to correct it. "It's hard to . . . unring that bell of misinformation," she says.

Elizabeth Cohen, associate professor of political science, says not only are deportations harmful to families, but are also disruptive to the labor force and economy.

"He [President Trump] doesn’t have to be an advocate of climate change research," says Harry Lambright, professor of public administration and international affairs. "But he has to neutralize the idea that he is a climate change denier."

"If President Trump and his advisers can out-think and out-strategize [Putin] in order to get Russia to provide some useful assistance in changing North Korea’s nuclear program, then it could be a win for the president, but it’s high-risk to say the least," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"The current struggle over an affirmative message is further compounded by the fact that the negative messaging is taking up all the energy," says Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher. "Everything is about opposing Trump." 

"When you see a piece of misinformation, even when it’s in the context of being corrected and you believe the correction, it can still have lingering effects on your attitudes," says Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science.

"People have always been susceptible to misinformation," Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, says. "The real challenge now lies in the immediacy, scope and ease of dissemination we now see with new technologies like social media."

Thomas Keck, Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics, says that while constitutional conventions could help advance civil rights by allowing organized groups to propose and implement changes to the state constitution, there is a fear that the same issues that plague state legislatures, like corporate cash or politician corruption, could also influence the construction of a new constitution.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, says Trump could attempt to contain the criticism from retiring Republicans by moderating his tone and laying off individual attacks on members.

"Voting ‘yes’ on this particular ballot initiative does not mean there’s going to be a new Constitution," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "It means you’re setting the process in motion to rewrite the Constitution."

Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, and her co-author found through survey research that sports fans tend to harbor more right-leaning attitudes on economic and foreign policy issues, even as Republicans are no more likely than Democrats to follow most sports.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, says Trump’s words were "pushing that frontier of just what is acceptable on the part of a president. I think that’s why it is getting the attention that it’s getting. Any time you start talking fast and loose about…families that have lost members in the line of duty, that is political dynamite."

According to Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, "voting has become much more rigid" along party lines.

"One problem is the [flood] maps are based on historical data, they're static maps," says Sarah Pralle, associate professor of political science. "They don't take into account future development scenarios and future weather-related scenarios having to do with climate change."

Maxwell alumna Emily Simonson ’15 M.P.A./M.A. (IR) was one of the recipients of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, as part of the Urban Waters team, which created public-private partnerships to clean and revive urban waterways and their surrounding lands. 

"On the one hand, it takes him to a region, and to individual countries, that he's criticized, and with which he's already had tensions. So, a lot of things could go wrong," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. "On the other hand, a diplomatic trip like this almost forces him to behave in a more conventional way, and that could help his image at home."

"Officials are concerned about the financial burden on individual property owners, but also worry about decreased property values and increased restrictions on development," Sarah Pralle, associate professor of political science.

"The vice president has an interest in technology and space policy generally, so the council becomes a good venue to put some context to all of this," says University Professor Sean O'Keefe.