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MPSA Blog: Top 10 Posts from 2016
Regardless of your research interests, your academic (or Alt-Ac) role, or your aspirations for the new year, there is something on this list of MPSA’s most popular blog posts from 2016 that is sure to pique your interest: Q&A with the Founder of Women Also Know Stuff Recommended Reading:…
On the Eve of the 2017 Conference Season
As the Fall semester comes to a close, most academics in our field are readying for the upcoming hectic conference schedule starting with SPSA in New Orleans in January, ISA (February) in Baltimore, MPSA (April) in Chicago, and ending with WPSA (April) in Vancouver. Keeping this in mind, this post…
Election 2016 Lesson for the Media: New Journalistic Norms Needed to Cover Elections
The 2016 U.S. presidential election will stand out in the nation’s collective memory as a highly unusual event for many reasons. It featured two unique candidates, an election campaign that completely overturned the norms set by previous elections, a neglected voter base that showed an…
Supranational Courts: Are they the New Legal Titans?
The Hague, Netherlands - August 2, 2016: The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial branch of the United Nations. Seated in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. In October 2016, South Africa followed Burundi in withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC) asserting…
Political Science: The Cure for Election Anxiety
Reporters are discovering a new phenomenon this year: election anxiety. This year’s contests, particularly the one for President, have Americans worried and minds racing. The cure is right here: political science. It is the key to calming mental chatter, reducing stress, re-centering energy, and…
One PhD Candidate’s Roadmap for Successful Co-Authorship
All of us at one point or another have either considered or have been involved in a co-authored project. With the way academia is evolving, co-authorship is not only encouraged but it is fast becoming the norm especially in Political Science. But we hardly see discussions on how it works and the…
In the Shadow of Tragedies: Our Responsibility to Protect
“State sovereignty, in its most basic sense, is being redefined-not least by the forces of globalisation and international co-operation. States are now widely understood to be instruments at the service of their peoples, and not vice versa.” - Kofi Annan (1999), Former Secretary General of…
Bernie Goldwater: What Sanders Supporters Can Learn from Young Americans for Freedom
Supporters were crestfallen, but their resolve was firm. Their candidate had refused to buckle to the pressure from party elite—the usual pressure from political managers, to move to the political center and tone down strong rhetoric, seeking to enlist the support of middle-of-the-road voters and…
Social Media: Great Campaign Tool, but Bad News for Democracy
By now, we have all read about and analyzed Donald Trump’s (in)famous Cinco de Mayo tweet, which featured a picture of him grinning broadly while eating a taco bowl, with the following tweet: “Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!” Twitter and…
Trendspotting Through the Gradventurist’s Lens
Now that it has been two weeks since MPSA 2016 ended, there are a few trends I observed during the conference that I feel need revisiting especially from a graduate student perspective. The conference weekend was hectic for everyone and there was a lot going on simultaneously, so it is useful to…