Mike’s enormous career achievements and contributions stand out in three dimensions: (1) his pioneering work in several methodological areas (estimation of dynamics; observational dependence, especially spatial and network interdependence; out-of-sample forecasting; and statistical graphics, for examples); (2) the early, sustained, and great effects his methodological contributions have had on the subfields of international relations and comparative politics, especially in the democratic peace literature; and (3) his years… read more about Michael Ward is the honored recipient of The 2018 Political Methodology Career Achievement Award »
The faculty, staff, and students of political science are saddened at the news of the passing of J. Peter Euben, beloved Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Kenan Distinguished Faculty Fellow in Ethics. Euben won five teaching awards across his career. Writing for Duke Today, nearing his retirement, Peter reflected on his teaching. "All this speaks to the importance of establishing a dialogue among the students and between them and me even in a class of 75. Of… read more about Remembering Peter Euben »
The definition of mentoring in itself is fairly simple: “to advise or train someone.” However, behind the simplicity of the definition lies an ambiguous process. Mentoring can take on various forms and approaches, ranging from teaching someone how to conduct a particular task to managing work/life balance. Mentors can be our teachers, our parents or relatives, or even good friends or colleagues. And since mentoring can be as simple as providing or receiving emotional support in times of need, sometimes people can be mentors… read more about Anh Do facilitates speed mentoring for graduate students »
Isak Tranvik has been awarded a Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellows from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. "The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation has awarded 21 promising scholars Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships. The Newcombe Fellowship is the nation’s largest and most prestigious award for Ph.D. candidates in the humanities and social sciences addressing questions of ethical and religious values. Funded by the Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation,… read more about Isak Tranvik named a Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellows »
Matthew King, a senior majoring in Political Science, spoke to graduating classmates at Senior Class Day. This event took place Friday, May 11, 2018 at Page Auditorium at Duke University. After graduation Matthew will be earning his Masters in International Security at Sciences Po's Paris School of International Affairs as an Émile-Boutmy Scholar. read more about Graduation Stories: "Warning! You are about to enter a magical place" »
In its 203rd year, Allegheny College will award honorary degrees to three distinguished scholars — each a graduate of Allegheny — at the college’s 2018 Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 12, at 2 p.m. In addition, a Scholarship Fund has been setup at Allegheny College for students pursuing research questions in the social sciences. “John Aldrich, Barbara Hotham Iglewski and Carol Reardon have reflected great honor on their alma mater through their scholarly accomplishments, their commitment to educating students and… read more about John Aldrich awarded honorary doctorate of humane letters from alma mater »
Munger, an economist and political science professor at Duke, explores the growing popularity of apps such as Uber and Airbnb and how these represents a fundamental change in transaction costs. Written for both general and specialist readers, the books shows the far-reaching consequences of the “sharing economy” and how reduced transaction costs may reshape the value of owning many things that we now consider essential. read more about Book Author Profiles: Michael Munger and 'Tomorrow 3.0' »
“It’s an emperor’s-new-clothes moment,” says Duke University political scientist Ruth Grant, author of “Hypocrisy and Integrity: Machiavelli, Rousseau, and the Ethics of Politics.” Much like the phenomenon of the ketman principle in totalitarian countries, Ms. Grant says that hypocrisy is also particularly common in liberal democracies like the United States, where fealty is paid to high moral ideals while the actual conditions are tied more to power and political pragmatism. For women more broadly, it… read more about Assault allegations against former NY attorney general - Christian Science Monitor interviews Ruth Grant »
With “Why Parties Matter,” Aldrich, a professor of political science, and co-author John D. Griffin of the University of Colorado, Boulder, make the case that competition between political parties is an essential component of a democracy that is responsive to its citizens. Tracing the history of the parties through four eras -- the Democratic-Whig party era that preceded the Civil War; the post-Reconstruction period; the Jim Crow era, when competition between the parties virtually disappeared; and the modern era -- Aldrich… read more about Book Author Profiles: John Aldrich and 'Why Parties Matter' »
In the middle of a landmass in the Northern Hemisphere bordered by oceans, people call themselves Americans. According to both their own laws and broader international ones, they are members of a group known as a nation-state – in this case the United States of America. The idea is the group shares common values, participates in a shared economic system and more or less agrees that its leader represents the group in international negotiations. But when did the concept of a nation-state first emerge? And is the political… read more about Is the Nation-State Still a Thing? Joseph Grieco on NPR »
The Duke University Program in American Grand Strategy hosts ambitious ‘Staff Rides’ where students role play military and war-period characters alongside faculty and military experts to learn the stakes of war. More than a dozen political science students and staff toured across Europe together. Led by Professor Peter Feaver, students debate strategy from the perspective of embroiled contemporaries of war to learn the trust costs and sacrifices of leadership. “The staff ride was created in the wake of… read more about Duke University highlights the war studies journey of political science students »
"The discussion at this workshop will go beyond the phenomenon of whistleblowing, to look at how people overcome tendencies to be complacent, and the courage it takes to speak truth to power. Joining Kalven in the conversation will be Ruth Grant, Duke University Professor of Political Science and senior fellow at Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics, who is a visiting faculty member at the Institute this year. An ethicist and philosopher, Grant has written several works of political philosophy including Hypocrisy and… read more about Ruth Grant serves on "Complacency, Complicity, and Moral Courage" panel at the Chicago Institute for Pyschoanalysis »
Becher, Michael, Daniel Stegmueller, and Konstantin Kaeppner. “Local Union Organization and Law Making in the US Congress.” Forthcoming in Journal of Politics. The political power of labor unions is a contentious issue in the social sciences. Departing from the dominant focus on membership size, we argue that unions’ influence on national law making is based to an important degree on their local organization. We delineate the novel hypothesis that the horizontal concentration of union members… read more about Spring 2018 Publications »
All across the Western hemisphere, satisfaction with democratic governments has decreased and voters abandon mainstream politicians and political parties. “Populist” dissatisfaction with what voters perceive unresponsive elites makes new political challengers thrive: “Right-wing” populist politicians appeal to the purity of the nation and oppose immigration and multiculturalism. “Left-wing” populists emphasize economic deprivation and growing inequality. This conference examines the dynamics of populist Left and Right… read more about New Workshop: Radical Party Challenges & Realignment in Advanced Democracies »
“Microtargeting is not something that’s new,” said Sunshine Hillygus, a professor of political science and public policy at Duke University, referring to the process of using personal information to craft personalized messages. She said the practice goes back to the late 1990s, but it was happening on postcards and through direct mail. Campaigns would maintain detailed “voter files,” but all the information was offline. Then Facebook came along. “It has been with Facebook that you have connected offline and online… read more about Sunshine Hillygus discusses Cambridge Analytica on Marketplace Tech podcast »
"With the Doomsday Clock now at two minutes to midnight, the boys go nuclear and explore the legendary political satire Dr. Strangelove. Could Trump fire off a nuke like he fires off a tweet? And how close are we to complete annihilation? The questions are big, the answers are bigger." read more about Peter Feaver discusses nuclear weapons on Science(ish) podcast »
Sunshine Hillygus completed her sixth year of service on the Census Scientific Advisory Committee. She asked important questions in her comments, "how will citizenship questions be tested?" and "how does the Bureau plan to reassure the public about confidentiality?" and "what are the metrics for success or failure of the census?"Click here to read her discussant comments. " I want to say in no uncertain terms," Hillygus said, "that I think this is an absolutely awful decision. I am… read more about Sunshine Hillyguys completes 6 years of service on the Census Scientific Advisory Committee »
"With the growing popularity of apps such as Uber and Airbnb, there has been a keen interest in the rise of the sharing economy. Michael C. Munger brings these new trends in the economy down to earth by focusing on their relation to the fundamental economic concept of transaction costs. In doing so Munger brings a fresh perspective on the 'sharing economy' in clear and engaging writing that is accessible to both general and specialist readers. He shows how, for the first time, entrepreneurs can sell reductions in… read more about Michael Munger's newest book, Tomorrow 3.0 starts shipping this week »
"Is the United States sliding toward dictatorship? Can the nation reverse course, or is the damage already done? Professor Timur Kuran is among the authors featured in “Can It Happen Here? Authoritarianism in America,” published on Mar. 6. Edited by Harvard Law Professor Cass R. Sunstein, this collection of 17 essays explores the lessons of history, how democracies crumble, how propaganda works, and the role of the media, courts, elections, and "fake news" in the modern political landscape — and what the… read more about Timur Kuran authors in a collection of essays, edited by Cass Sunstein »
Paula D. McClain has been nominated as President-Elect of the American Political Science Association (APSA) for 2018-2019. According to the news release, "The call for nominations was circulated among the membership, and outreach specifically to APSA committees and organized sections was conducted. The committee made its decisions after careful deliberation and consideration for the diversity of the field and the varied interests of political scientists. The candidates, along with any additional nominations by… read more about Paula McClain nominated as 2018-19 APSA President-Elect »
General Lori J. Robinson, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), spoke on Feb. 12 in a conversation moderated by Professor Peter Feaver titled “Wearing Two Hats: Managing Threats and Relationships Across Two Commands.” With a military career of 26 years of decorated service, Gen. Robinson is the first-ever female combatant commander. This event was sponsored by the Duke University Program in American Grand Strategy and co-sponsored by the Department of… read more about Peter Feaver moderates discussion with General Lori J. Robinson »
Noa Cnaan-On, one of our PhD Candidates, wrote a new piece for The Washington Post, Monkey Cage, about the demonstrations in Israel. “My research on Israeli social and religious movements seeking to impact government policies suggests that movements that had a clear leadership and that were organized hierarchically were more successful in pushing forward their agenda and had a higher likelihood in affecting government decisions and resource allocation.” Continue reading here read more about Noa Cnaan-On writes for The Washington Post Monkey Cage »
"People often stay silent, even when they want to speak up. We may think something in private, and say nothing in public. This happens to individuals who've suffer abuse, this happens to entire nations. Duke University political scientist Timur Kuran says that people pay close attention to public opinion, and figure out that sometimes, it's wiser to shut up...and so people say one thing publicly, and believe another thing privately. Timur Kuran calls this 'preference falsification.'"Continue to NPR here read more about Timur Kuran guest interview on NPR's Hidden Brain »
The Duke Council on Race and Ethnicity (DCORE) and The Raben Group co-convened a Feb. 1, 2018, panel discussion to bring attention to a public hearing on voter access in Raleigh the following day. The panelists provided cultural and historical context of voting rights in the state and the in the country. Panelists included: Debo Adegbile, Commissioner, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Juliana Cabrales, National Association of Latinx Elected Officials Richard L. Engstrom, Faculty Affiliate, Social Science Research… read more about Kerry Haynie serves on NC redistricting and voter access panel »
Matthew King, a senior majoring in political science, noted Cook’s strong, longstanding ties to Duke. "Tim Cook is a fantastic pick,” said King. “He cares deeply about Duke, and he's a Blue Devil through and through. Many of us aspire to be like Tim Cook when we grow up, so what could be better than to hear from him directly?" In addition to his service at Duke, Cook serves on the boards of directors of Nike and the National Football Foundation. Among his honors are the Newseum’s Free Expression Award (2017),… read more about Matthew King helps reveal Apple CEO Tim Cook as 2018 commencement speaker »
Congratulations Katie Webster, who has won the Peace Science Society's 2017 Stuart A. Bremer Award for the best graduate-student paper presented at the annual meeting. Her paper was entitled "Rethinking Civil War Onset and Escalation." Why do some civil conflicts simmer at low-intensity, while others escalate to war? This paper challenges traditional approaches to the start of intrastate conflict by arguing the need to distinguish both theoretically and methodologically between the onset and escalation of civil conflict. I… read more about Katie Webster wins Peace Science Society's 2017 award for best graduate student paper »
"The President by himself cannot press a button and cause missiles to fly. He can only give an authenticated order which others would follow and then missiles would fly," Dr. Peter Feaver, a professor of public policy and political science at Duke University, told congressional lawmakers last year. "The system is not a button that the President can accidentally lean on against the desk and immediately cause missiles to fly as some people in the public, I think, fear it would be," Feaver testified. Continue… read more about Peter Feaver's congressional testimonial reported in CNN Politics »
In a new article, political scientists Sunshine Hillygus, Seth McKee, and McKenzie Young show that whites who have moved to the South are more likely to be Democratic than lifelong Southerners. They draw this conclusion by looking at data going back to the 1970s from the American National Election Studies survey. Since 1968, the survey has asked respondents where they grew up. This allowed Hillygus and her colleagues to categorize white residents of Southern states as “natives” (people who grew up in the region) and “… read more about Hillygus research in Monkey Cage analysis of the political implications of white domestic migration to the American South »
Two alumni, Brendan Nyhan and Rajiv Golla, have written on topics that highlight the many ways that studying political science can compliment professional writing. Brendan Nyhan, who graduated with a PhD in 2009, is a contributing writer for NYTimes Upshot blog and recently co-authored the first large data analysis of the estimates and effects of fake news exposure during the 2016 presidential election. In a NYTimes piece about… read more about Two political science alumni address emergent issues in society »
Alexander, Kathryn J. 2017. “Religiosity and Bellicosity: The Impact of Religious Commitment on Patterns of Interstate Conflict,” Journal of Global Security Studies 2(4): 271-287. Are states with religiously committed citizens more likely to initiate conflict than states with less committed populations? This article builds upon findings within the literature on American politics that link individuals’ levels of religious commitment to their attitudes about foreign policy, and it tests whether the… read more about Fall 2017 Duke Political Science Publications »