Professor Amy E. Lerman has published an op-ed in CalMatters titled “ The Abundance Agenda: More Than Efficiency.” In this insightful piece, Amy argues for a shift in policy thinking, advocating for an abundance mindset that prioritizes investment in people and communities over mere efficiency. Her thought-provoking commentary draws on her expertise in political science and public policy to challenge prevailing ideas and offer new...
Faculty Publications
Political scientists Paul Pierson and Eric Schickler have recently published Partisan Nation: The Dangerous New Logic of American Politics in a Nationalized Era (2024), a timely examination of how the nationalization of politics has intensified polarization in the United States. The book argues that the growing ideological divide between the two major parties, along with changes in state parties, interest groups, and media, has created...
Professor Kirk Bansak's paper titled "Europeans’ support for refugees of varying background is stable over time" has been published in Nature. It was posted online a couple weeks ago, and will be out in their print edition on August 24, 2023. Read the full paper here, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06417-6. Professor Bansak was also interviewed by Berkeley News about his paper. You can read his interview here, https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/08/09/releases-20230803-6894450.
Professor Vinod K. Aggarwal and Professor and PhD Alum Andrew Reddie write an article featured in Lawfare. You can read the full article here: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/putting-the-biden-administration-s-new-economic-statecraft-in-context
The Rodel Institute received a large volume of excellent book nominations. The following blog post features Professor Sarah Anzia's book titled " Local Interests: Politics, Policy, and Interest Groups in US City Governments" along with the 7 other nonfiction books published in 2022 that were selected as longlist finalists: https://www.rodelinstitute.org/edwards-book-award-longlist-announced/.
New research co-authored by Professor Gabriel Lenz and Ph.D. candidate Alia Braley at UC Berkeley details the psychological processes that demagogues exploit to erode support for democracy — and shows a way to bridge the dangerous divide. (Photo illustration by Neil Freese). https://news.berkeley.edu/2023/05/22/berkeley-political-scientists-chart-a-promising-course-to-ease-toxic-polarization/
Professor Kinch Hoekstra has a new piece out in Histos , which he explains is a journal of ancient historiography that political scientists will not encounter. It reflects a sample of a vast project in progress that he is undertaking with Luca Iori of the University of Parma, which will become a critical edition of Thomas Hobbes's translation of Thucydides. The sample is Hobbes's translation...
Assistant Professor Ryan Brutger's article "Abstraction and Detail in Experimental Design" was among the most highly cited AJPS articles from last year, and is featured in their "virtual edition" of top cited papers. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajps.12710?af=R
Professor Amy Lerman's empirical paper they wrote using DOJ data to estimate racial disparities, which came out in Law & Society Review last year (paper features: Wired and in Vox), was used by the legislature to inform changes in eligibility for criminal record clearance in California.
Emeritus Professor George Breslauer published THE RISE AND DEMISE OF WORLD COMMUNISM (Oxford University Press) in Fall 2021. It is a macro-political synthesis and reinterpretation of the evolution of communist regimes, their interactions with others in the "world communist movement," and their relations with the capitalist powers. It brings to bear theoretical perspectives drawn from both comparative politics and international relations literatures.