Newly transitioned democracies frequently exhibit authoritarian traits at the subnational level. Despite incentives to transition to democracy, subnational transitions occur unevenly. Some occur through natural electoral change, others due to intervention, while some enclaves are able to resist these pressures entirely. Thus, a question arises: under what conditions are subnational autocracies able to resist these…
Tag: political science
Once lockdown was over, Germans on lower incomes went out while others stayed at home
This piece first appeared on LSE School of Public Policy. During the lockdown, Germans of all income levels stayed at home. But what happened once it was lifted? Amanda Driscoll (Florida State University), Jay Krehbiel (West Virginia University) and Michael Nelson (The Pennsylvania State University) discuss a study that finds people on lower incomes are much more likely to…
Ph.D. Spotlight: The Determinants of Vote Choice in Ballot Measure Elections
What types of informational cues do voters rely on when forming opinions? When does it matter for ballot measures? Is newspaper coverage biased in ballot endorsement elections? What types of bias do newspapers engage in? Does the bias of newspaper coverage in ballot elections affect the outcome of ballot measure elections? With an election just…
Teaching Spotlight: How Should and Can We Help the poor? A Course on Global Development & Giving
In the Fall 2019 semester I launched a new undergraduate course titled Global Development & Giving (PUP 4931), which was supported by FSU’s Council of Research and Creativity. I have been visiting poor countries, predominantly in South East Asia, once or twice annually since 2014. These countries include Cambodia, Myanmar, Tibet (China), and, foremost, Laos….
Some of COSSPP Faculty’s Favorite Academic Books
Each year FSU’s newly tenured faculty are asked to hand-pick an item for the Libraries in a subject area of their choosing. The faculty’s picks are purchased and inscribed with the faculty member’s name, department, and the year. Faculty are asked to write a brief paragraph explaining why the book they selected is meaningful to…
COSSPP Faculty Impact on Scholarship: Influence at a Glance
As the spring semester comes to an end, we want to take a moment to celebrate the accomplishments and influence of faculty in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy. This series of graphs produced by Dr. Jim Elsner offers a glimpse of the amazing work taking place in the College of Social Science…
Social Science Scholar: Michigan Department of State
My internship and broader experience within the Social Science Scholars program helped me gain a clearer focus on my plans post-graduation. I have decided to use my fourth and final year as an undergraduate at Florida State to fulfill requirements for dual degrees in Political Science and Spanish. I already intended to pursue a graduate degree, but some of my conversations with executive staff during my internship led me to reconsider my program of study, and to shift away from political science and toward data science. My ultimate goal is to work in either state or federal government, or as a researcher at a think tank, and to be able to use both my political science background and my data science skills to craft robust, empirically-derived public policy.
A Core COSSPP Value: Evidence-Based Decision Making
Disciplines in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy promote critical thinking, analytical methods, and empirical skills as the path to understanding the key political, social, and economic issues that dominate our public discussions.
