I was a freshman at the University of Arkansas in 1992, and our governor, Bill Clinton, ran for president. Arkansas is a small state, and many people on campus were involved in the campaign. Being close to the excitement of a presidential campaign sparked my interest in the process. Now, as a professor, I do a lot of traveling during every presidential campaign to give talks about the election and about my research. Every four years, people suddenly become interested in election polling and whether we can trust polls… read more about Blue Devil of the Week: Sunshine Hillygus became interested in politics in college during the Clinton campaign »
According to polls, however, the big love Obama got from black voters in 2008, and the buoyancy they gave him when he ran for reelection in 2012, hasn't yet transferred to Clinton, says Kerry Haynie, a Duke University professor of political science and African-American studies. "I've traveled around Durham [North Carolina]. I did not see one campaign sign in my barbershop – not even anything about the Clinton campaign," says Haynie, who works in North Carolina, a key electoral battleground. Compared to 2008 and 2012, when… read more about US News & World Report interviews Kerry Haynie on Clinton's support rates among African-Americans »
"Giáo sư Edmund Malesky nói về sự hình thành chỉ số PCI và những kỳ vọng tương lai." Professor Edmund Malesky talks about the creation of the PCI and his expectations about future developments. Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: read more about 'Me and Vietnam' - Edmund Malesky's televised interview on Vietnam's FBNC »
More than 150,000 North Carolina students have preregistered to vote since it became legal in 2009. Nationally, those numbers can have an impact on voter turnout, boosting it by as much as five percentage points—which in the world of political science is nothing to sneeze at. "It is a big deal," Duke University professor Sunshine Hillygus said. Hillygus teaches political science and does research on preregistration. "It’s really hard to find electoral reforms that are effective at increasing turnout," she said. "There have… read more about With The End Of Voter ID Law, Preregistration Makes A Come-Back, Sunshine Hillygus interviewed, WUNC NPR »
Clinton’s challenge was to convey her policy skills without becoming too “wonkish,” and to show a steadiness that would help build trust as president to offset doubts based more on her reputation for political maneuvering, said Bruce Jentleson, a professor of public policy and political science. “The general reaction thus far is that she did this well. Pundits largely gave her the win, markets went up right away -- Dow Futures, various international stock exchanges. Whether swing voters in swing states moved toward her… read more about Reactions from Duke policy experts on the first presidential debate of 2016 »
As we saw again in this week’s debate with Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump refuses to acknowledge that, in a September 2002 radio interview with Howard Stern, he said it was “a good idea” to go to war against Iraq. In fact, he now claims that before the war began in March 2003, he voiced opposition to its initiation and worked actively to prevent it. [...] So what should we make of Donald Trump’s refusal to admit that he supported the Iraq war? Continue reading here read more about The meaning in Trump's refusal to admit support for Iraq war - Joseph Grieco writes for The News & Observer »
DAVID ROHDE, DUKE UNIVERSITY: 2010 was a real benchmark because it produced so many states in which the Republicans completely controlled the process. JEFF GREENFIELD: David Rohde is a political scientist at Duke University in North Carolina, one of the states where Republicans won control of the state legislature. DAVID ROHDE: Gerrymandering has a larger impact on bigger states. That is, the more the population, the more ways you can divide it up, the more seats you have… read more about David Rohde discusses gerrymandering in PBS NewsHour interview »
In the academy and well beyond, the problem of null results has become quite significant. Indeed, discussions of null results have made their way as far as TV commentator John Oliver’s recent discussion of science in which he poignantly notes that people generally do not like to hear about null results. And yet, maybe we would all be better off – with more money in the bank – if his headline “Nothing Up With Acai Berries” actually made it to the general public and we embraced it (see NIH).… read more about Edmund Malesky coauthors reflections on null results »
Even though the treaty to ban nuclear weapons testing was never fully enacted — more on that later — the anti-testing agenda has been successful. Since 1999, only North Korea has conducted nuclear tests. Although North Korea’s ongoing behavior has, deservedly, been met with global outrage, ironically it may be recent actions taken by the Obama administration that most jeopardize the chance for a viable testing moratorium. North Korea is testing, but not in a way that will lead others to test. President Obama, however, is… read more about Obama puts nuclear ban in jeopardy - Kyle Beardsley writes for The Post and Courier »
The AKP and many of its opponents agree on one thing: had the putsch succeeded, the repression would be far worse. And, indeed, AKP supporters far outnumber Gülenists. But the AKP has made bitter enemies over the last 14 years, and millions of Turks would have applauded the jailing of its leaders, even as many of those leaders plausibly claimed that their support for Erdoğan was feigned. Today, Turkey is further than ever from creating a society whose members feel free to speak openly and honestly. The ongoing witch hunt… read more about Turkey's Changing Freedom Deficit - Timur Kuran writes for Project Syndicate »
Transcript excerpt... VANEK SMITH: (Laughter) And there is always someone who will help us be a little bit lazier - for a profit. SMITH: And I guess in some ways with all that, you know, one-click shopping, the internet has made us lazier, and it's simultaneously created all these opportunities for people to jump in and make things even easier but to take a little slice of the profit here and there. VANEK SMITH: Exactly. Like, save us a couple of keystrokes and charge us a little more. Michael Munger is an economist at… read more about Michael Munger on NPR Planet Money podcast »
Funded by a Humanities Futures Grant from the Franklin Humanities Institute, the Interdisciplinary Political Theory Retreat was held on September 9, 2016 in 270 Gross Hall. Faculty from the history, philosophy and political science departments, as well as the Divinity School, the Law School, the Kenan Institute for Ethics and the Sanford School of Public Policy met to discuss goals and plan future events. Look for upcoming events on the Franklin Humanities Institute and Political Science websites. read more about Department hosts Interdisciplinary Political Theory Retreat »
"This Sunday marks the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The event caused shifts in global political, social and economic climates around the world, and has given birth to lots of new academic scholarship. In advance of the anniversary, Duke University asked some of its scholars to reflect on how their fields of study have been reshaped by 9/11. And we'll talk with three of them today. Joining me first is David Siegel..." Listen to The State of Things here read more about NPR The State of Things, David Siegel explains the impact of 9/11 on teaching about terrorism »
Professor Kerry L. Haynie was elected to a two year term as Co-President of the American Political Science Association's Section on Race and Ethnic Politics, at the association's annual meeting in Philadelphia, August 31-September 4, 2016. The purpose of the Section is to foster communication among scholars, recognize leadership in the field, facilitate research and publication opportunities, encourage undergraduate and student interest, and create a permanent forum for developing and… read more about Kerry Haynie elected as Co-President of the APSA's Section on Race and Ethnic Politics »
Dr. Paula D. McClain, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Duke University has been awarded a $327,465 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute (RBSI) for 2016-2019. This is the seventh NSF grant that Dr. McClain has received to support the RBSI program. The program is also supported by Duke University's Office of the Provost, the political science department and the American Political… read more about Three-year National Science Foundation Grant to Support the RBSI Program Awarded to Dr. Paula D. McClain »
The charge of "Islamization" is at least partly correct, says Timur Kuran, professor of economics, political science, and Islamic studies at Duke University. "Not only have Turkey's politics been Islamicized through AKP's deliberate policies, but Turkey's very large secular minority is under pressure to accept more and more religion in public life." Kuran points to the strong support the country's mosques provided to the government during the failed coup attempt as an example of this. "Never since 1923 has Islam been so… read more about German-Turkish ties hit by 'Islamization' leak - Timur Kuran interviewed »
Peter Feaver, a former Bush administration official who handled Iraq strategy and now teaches at Duke University, and who has signed two letters from national security officials opposing Mr. Trump’s candidacy, praised Mr. Trump for giving a “surprisingly serious” speech on counterterrorism. But he also said that “given how vehemently Trump has denounced Bush’s national security team, it is striking how much of this speech depends on counterterrorism ideas developed by the Bush administration. It is not a perfect copy — we… read more about Donald Trump’s Terrorism Plan Mixes Cold War Concepts and Limits on Immigrants - Peter Feaver comments in the NYTimes »
While this year the lack of an August lull is more pronounced than previously, Sunshine Hillygus, professor of political science at Duke University, told TIME the end of the August lull is also related to changes in how people read the news, including the spread of social media. “It is a reflection of changes in the media environment,” Hillygus said. Continue reading here read more about Will Politics Take Off the Month of August? - Sunshine Hillygus interviewed »
Now, to be clear, I’m not trying to say that Brexit itself was a bad decision. My point is about majority rule and voting. In this post, I’m going to argue that voting was not the best way to represent the will of the people when the Brexit decision was being made. Continue reading here read more about Brexit Illustrates Why Voting Is One of the Worst Ways to Make Decisions - Michael Munger »
Votes aside, the Congressional Black Caucus has kept its issues in the news cycle while presidential politics play out, says Duke University’s Kerry Haynie, an expert on race and ethnic politics. Butterfield can use the “bully pulpit,” Haynie said, to stay relevant at a time when the CBC’s legislative power is limited. It seems the group has helped shape Hillary Clinton’s campaign talking points, Haynie said. And several CBC members will speak at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia later next week.… read more about The leader of the Congressional Black Caucus is having a huge year - Kerry Haynie interviewed »
Low-trust societies participate disproportionately less in international commerce, and attract less investment. And, indeed, according to the World Values Survey and related research, trust among individuals in the Middle East is low enough to limit commercial transactions to people who know one another either personally or through mutual acquaintances. Because of their lack of trust, Arabs will often pass up potentially lucrative opportunities to gain through exchange...perceptions of trustworthiness in the Arab world are… read more about The Roots of Middle East Mistrust - Timur Kuran »
The world has become a much, much better place as a result of globalization with a decline in violence, the growth of prosperity at almost all levels (a huge decline in absolute poverty), greater cultural and social interaction, etc. But it does hurt those who lack skills or who do not do well in school, or drop out and want a blue collar job like their fathers or grandfathers had. Such jobs exist, they are just in Vietnam and other third world countries where people are willing to work for much less than in the US.… read more about Ask the Experts: Michael Gillespie on Patriotism »
A few weeks ago The Economist made antibiotic resistance its cover story, and for good reason. We live in a bacterial world. The average person hosts about 39 trillion bacteria. Lucky for us, most bacteria are benign – they crowd out pathogenic bacteria like e. coli in our gut, staph on our skin, and strep in our mouth. Even pathogenic bacteria usually do us no harm unless they invade our bloodstream or otherwise find their way into parts of our bodies that our immune system is poorly equipped to deal… read more about Antibiotic Resistance and Collective Harms - Jonathan Anomaly writes for BHL »
While we can’t say for sure why young people are less likely to express racist attitudes, there are several possible explanations. Not only has this group of white people come of age during the racial backlash to President Obama, but they are also one of the most educated cohorts, and able to benefit from the liberalizing effects of education on racial attitudes. While Obama’s election led some people to hope we had entered a post-racial America, the deeply racialized backlash to his presidency has awakened many young… read more about Young voters are much more likely to reject Trump’s racism - Ashley Jardina coauthors »
Professor Kuran, of Duke University, said the Ottoman Sharia judges had been trying to help those with high social status. “What we see here are unintended consequences. The court’s intent was to assist groups considered worthy of support,” he wrote. “The unintended consequence was to render them less trustworthy and increase their cost of borrowing. “The biases of the courts made it risky to lend to privileged groups. The courts gave privileged groups incentives to break contracts. “Judicially favoured… read more about Ottoman Empire courts data reveal a cause for sluggish industrialization - Timur Kuran »
Proponents of Brexit have made strong claims, including that it will ultimately make Britain richer and restore its liberty. But the ultimate reason for the strength of the exit camp is the near-complete failure of the British political leadership. Over the past half century, Britain's leaders have failed to embrace Europe openly and to make a case for EU membership based on something broader and deeper than a short-term utilitarian calculus. While the leaders of the British Labour party have supported EU membership… read more about The Brexit referendum is a failure of political leadership - Tim Büthe »
Political science faculty, David Siegel and Peter Feaver wrote op-ed pieces responding to policy questions surrounding the tragedy of the recent Orlando shooting. Writing in, "Why you can't support a no-fly list but allow those on it to get guns" Siegel concludes, "A member of Congress could be consistent with his or her positions on Second Amendment issues and argue that the no-fly list represents an unjust and dangerous government overreach. Or that member could be consistent with his or her views on security and… read more about David Siegel and Peter Feaver respond to the policy implications of the Orlando massacre »
What are the best practices in qualitative research design as they pertain to research transparency? Tim Büthe has recently co-chaired the steering committee to launch Qualitative Transparency Deliberations, a discussion platform approved by the American Political Science Association to help answer meta-questions in the social sciences like what the costs, risks, standards, and best practices are for achieving quality research transparency. The Qualitative Transparency Deliberations… read more about Tim Büthe helps launch Qualitative Transparency Deliberations »