Political Science | Penn Today

Two innovative researchers selected as 2018 Carnegie Fellows

Daniel Q. Gillion and Beth Simmons are among the 29 recipients who will receive a stipend to fund up to two years of research and writing.

Donald Trump’s Next Move on North Korea, Iran, Ronny Jackson? ‘We'll See’

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center analyzed the president’s unique rhetorical style. Jamieson suggested that his commonly-used phrases “we’ll see” and “wait and see” serve to minimize his responsibility for unfavorable outcomes.

five people standing behind curtains at a polling place.

Fear of losing status, not economic hardship, drove voters in 2016

Research from Annenberg's Diana Mutz challenges the discourse surrounding voter motivation in the 2016 election: Fears of economic insecurity did not drive voters to the voting booth in support of Donald Trump, as public sentiment has believed.

Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Anxiety, Study Finds

Diana Mutz of the School of Arts and Sciences and Annenberg School for Communication discussed her study, which has joined a chorus of research analyzing the 2016 Republican presidential campaign’s appeal to white, Christian, and/or male voters. Studies have found that many were motivated by what they perceived as their loss of privilege and status.

People Voted for Trump Because They Were Anxious, Not Poor

Political scientist Diana Mutz of the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Arts and Sciences has released a new study on white support for Trump. The article, which analyzed survey data from 2012 to 2016, found that election results had less to do with economic hardship and far more to do with changes in the social status of a “historically dominant group.”

A New U.S. Policy Makes It (Somewhat) Easier to Export Drones

Michael Horowitz of the School of Arts and Sciences and Perry World House and Joshua Schwartz, a doctoral candidate in Arts and Sciences, analyzed the administration’s policy changes around drone exports.

Poli sci prof studies why women run (or don’t run) for office

Through a detailed survey of female political aspirants enrolled in a campaign training program, a Penn political science professor examines the motivating factors behind why women do—or don't—decide to run for office.

Q&A

Q&A with Barbie Zelizer

Members of the media are unable to do their jobs due to creeping authoritarianism or totalitarian rule. The Center for Media at Risk hopes to bring together scholars and journalists to strategize about what can be done to resist it.

This striking depiction, from work by University of Pennsylvania political scientist Ian Lustick, shows that U.S. retaliation against Assad in Syria in 2013 would have likely led to higher civilian casualties than the numbers without such an intervention. (Image: Courtesy Ian Lustick)

Only one approach could plausibly have avoided catastrophe in Syria

Could the U.S. have better protected civilians from mass atrocities during the Syrian conflict in 2013? Research from political scientist Ian Lustick reveals that only one approach—persuading Assad to treat the protests as a reform movement rather than a violent revolution—might have helped.

MSNBC’s Surging Ratings Fuel Democratic Optimism

The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Kathleen Hall Jamieson offered commentary on the recent increase in support for MSNBC and accompanying decrease in support for Fox News. She found the shift to be similar to Rush Limbaugh’s rise in popularity during Bill Clinton’s presidency.

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