Authors
The American Impasse Between Environmentalists and Industry
In a recent book by Joel S. Whitworth, “Quantified: Redefining Conservation for the Next Economy” (Whitworth 2015), the author issues a bold challenge claiming that our 45-year old approaches to environmental policy through labyrinthine regulation, litigation, and exhortation are bringing…
If Political Science Ruled the World (and We Were on Our Best Behavior)
Once, as a graduate student at the University of Missouri, I wisecracked, "the entire world should be turned over to political scientists for experimental purposes." I was joking and everyone knew it... but I never lived down that moment. The world should not be turned over to political scientists…
A Grad Life Recap of the 2016 MPSA Conference
As the MPSA 2016 conference wraps up, I wanted to share a few thoughts as a first time attendee. This has been a phenomenal experience for me and my colleagues (most of whom are also first time attendees) and has made me fall in love with this profession all over again. Creative Research and…
Political Science: The Final Frontier
Can science fiction teach us about political institutions? A group of political scientists says yes. James Endersby of the University of Missouri-Columbia is spearheading a project with several of his former students, now colleagues, to show how science fiction illustrates the importance of…
Your To Do List: One Week until MPSA 2016
We are one week away from the MPSA 2016 conference and a lot of us are still scrambling to get everything in order. Those of us making it to the MPSA for the very first time are especially equal parts excited and nervous to be presenting at such a big forum. So to help out my fellow first timers, I…
Sir Edmund and Hillary: A Surprisingly Likely Pair
Mainstream political scientists often struggle with the subfield called political theory. Otherwise known as normative theory or political philosophy, theory is the study of history, philosophy, and values. It made up the bulk of political science before the data-driven “behavioral revolution”…
Tough Enough? National Security Issues Could Affect the 2016 U.S. Presidential Race
NEW YORK CITY - MARCH 2, 2016: Hillary Rodham Clinton affirmed her status as front-runner for the Democratic presidential nominations with a speech at Jacob Javits Center. Following the November 2015 Paris and Beirut terrorist attacks, and the more recent bombings in Brussels and Pakistan,…
Studying for Comps? Here are Three Approaches to Try Based on Learning Style
An example of the author’s mind mapping technique (click to expand). There comes a time in every PhD student’s career where they have to sit through the dreaded qualifying exams (or “comps” as they are often called). The structure of the exam changes from department to department, but the essence…
Will the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election Be a Realigning Election?
In his classic book Dynamics of the Party System, James L. Sundquist developed a theory of how party alignments change around new issues. As a winner-take-all system, (also called “first past the post” or FPTP), the U.S. is hard-wired to have only two dominant parties at a time. However, one party…
Three Methods to Ready Your Research for Public Absorption
Recently one of the biggest discussions within the field of political science has been on how to use our research for policy making purposes. The debate has focused on finding the best possible avenues to disseminate the research work in a manner that is suitable for public consumption but more…