José J. Sanmartín
José J. Sanmartín explores the significance of last month's midterm elections in the US, detecting deep undercurrents at work in American politics. These, he says, will not only shape the next presidential election campaign. They may also determine the United States’ vision of itself in the longer term Read more
Pablo C. Santos-Pineda
Using Human Rights Measurement Initiative methodology to evaluate how the United States performs on human rights, Pablo Cesar Santos-Pineda reveals the country has been failing to meet its obligations in relation to education, food, health, housing and work. This failure represents an opportunity for the governing US Democrats Read more
Costas Panayotakis
Costas Panayotakis recently exposed the fiction in the ‘Every Vote Counts’ thesis. Here, he explores the implications of that fiction for different electoral systems, notably those based on Proportional Representation and First Past the Post. In so doing, he reveals the futility of tactical voting Read more
Costas Panayotakis
Costas Panayotakis analyses the popular claim that 'every vote counts' in a democracy. He finds it is based on false assumptions and a misunderstanding of statistical probability. Voting and democratic participation, he concludes, are not based on individualistic self-interest but on some degree of idealism and solidarity Read more
Rachel Bernhard
Why does the United States have such a persistently poor record on gender equality? Rachel Bernhard looks beyond the stereotypes at political outcomes within groups to understand when, where, and how inequality persists Read more
Carolina Plescia
Interest in postal voting has increased during the pandemic as a means to avoid in-person contact. But exactly who is choosing to vote by mail? Carolina Plescia, Semra Sevi and André Blais find that the biggest cleavage in US citizen preferences about how to vote is generational, not ideological Read more
Alberto Parmigiani
To understand the storming of the US Capitol, we must consider its possible roots in economic inequality. This, along with economic elites' ability to transform material wealth into political clout, have contributed to record political polarisation in the US today, writes Alberto Parmigiani Read more
Ruairidh Brown
In Trump’s second impeachment trial, ‘truth’ never really mattered, writes Ruairidh Brown. Regardless of the facts or evidence presented, the endurance of a post-truth climate guaranteed he would be acquitted regardless Read more
The Loop
Cutting-edge analysis showcasing the work of the political science discipline at its best.
