Political Science | Penn Today

Questions abound after Trump threatens to strip funding from colleges that don’t support free speech

Sigal Ben-Porath of the Graduate School of Education said that a proposed executive order that would make funding for universities contingent on support for free speech may be “a blunt tool against … the wrong question.” A better question, she suggested, would be, “what is some work that we can do to make sure that [students] are heard, to make sure people consider diverse views?”

Venezuelan flag painted on wall with images of protesters in silhouette

Can Venezuela recover from its crisis?

Penn’s Dorothy Kronick discusses potential solutions to Venezuela’s deepening crisis, and asks whether sanctions are a good strategy.

This 21-year-old tweeted lies about Robert Mueller and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now, he’s eyeing the 2020 election

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center said Jacob Wohl is carrying on an American tradition of sowing political disinformation. “It takes a real talent to figure out what kind of deceptions will gain traction,” said Jamieson.

A rocky, shrubby landscape glows with sunlight under a partially cloudy sky.

Q&A

An old-school green deal

A major public lands package passed the U.S. Senate Feb. 12 with massive bipartisan support and is expected to pass the House later this month. Cary Coglianese shares insights into the bill’s contents—which entail the largest expansion of wilderness area in a decade.

A centuries-old idea could revolutionize climate policy

Daniel Aldana Cohen of the School of Arts and Sciences said the focus on U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s socialism distracts from the main features of her proposed New Green Deal. “The original New Deal, when you read about it, is super practical,” he said. “The biggest mistake is to see activist government … as ideological. It’s just a super practical approach to problem-solving. If you want to solve problems on a huge scale, then let’s actually put some public institutions to work.”

The presidential authority of treaty withdrawal

In a Q&A, Penn Law Professor Jean Galbraith examines the presidential authority to withdraw from and rejoin international agreements.

Q&A

The Venezuelan crisis, explained

A Q&A with Tulia Falleti, a political science professor and the director of the Latin American and Latino Studies Program, on the past, present, and possible future of Venezuela.

Does democracy need truth?: A conversation with the historian Sophia Rosenfeld

The School of Arts and Sciences’ Sophia Rosenfeld was interviewed about her new book, “Democracy and Truth: A Short History.” Addressing the rise of social media, Rosenfeld said, “we don’t have many tools, most of us, for distinguishing between legitimate stories and illegitimate ones, or we don’t care that much. The end result is a world of truth and falsehood all circulating, undifferentiated, globally.”

Venezuela economy, fiscal money trade concept illustration of financial banking budget with flag map and currency

Latin America in 2019: Will political upheaval stall growth?

William Burke-White discusses the economic impact of new leaders in Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico; upcoming elections in Argentina; and Venezuela’s upheaval in the face of Nicolas Maduro’s re-election.

Wesley Clark and Tom Ridge at College Hall

‘The conversation America needs’

Former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Wesley Clark, a retired four-star general of the U.S. Army, and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who served as the first U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, joined the Penn Political Union in College Hall on Wednesday for a wide discussion.

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