The post first appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat. A bill intending to discourage students from enrolling in majors that “do not directly lead to employment” is winding its way through the Florida Legislature. Unfortunately, this bill seriously misunderstands the nature of current labor markets. A person’s major does not necessarily lead to employment in any…
Tag: political science
How Partisan Representation Shapes Citizens’ Views of Accountability and Efficiency during COVID-19
The first cases of what would become a global pandemic emerged in November of 2019, and would within months spread rapidly on an international scale. The nature of the virus put unprecedented pressure on governments both abroad and in the United. In response, local, state, and national governments instituted protective measures in an effort to…
Research Spotlight: Air Superiority and Battlefield Victory
Is there a democratic war-fighting advantage? A significant body of research finds that democracies are more likely to win wars than non-democracies. A recent study challenges this argument. In their new publication, Dr. Souva and Ph.D. candidate, Richard Saunders, argue that the outcome of major battles and interstate wars is primarily a function of which…
Honors Thesis Spotlight: Right-Wing Political Violence in Modern Colombia (1970-1990): The State Legitimacy
In Colombia, during the early 1960s, leftist guerrilla groups were created following the spread of socialism during the Cold War. Later in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the first regional and local paramilitary groups were created to counter the spread of leftist insurgent groups. Nationalist and anti-communist sentiments fueled paramilitary ideology in Colombia as…
Ph.D. Spotlight: Is State Safety Net Capacity Adequate to Meet Basic Needs?
The decentralization of welfare allows governments to experiment and create a variety of goods in response to differences in constituent pressures, institutional constraints, and resource constraints. An important measure of the performance of a state’s social safety net is how effective it is at protecting the less fortunate during a contracting economy. State governments influence…
Meet a Social Scientist: Dr. Metcalf from International Studies
What is your name?Dr. Lee Metcalf What kind of work do you do in the College?Among other things, I am the director of the International Studies degree programs. Why did you decide to work at an academic institution? I was an FSU political science major who became absolutely fascinated with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe…
Social Science Scholar: Entrepreneurship and Activism
I spent my summer working as a brand ambassador for the social media app SuperShe, working with my family to start a small business, and acting as a member of the activism committee of Florida State University’s Progress Party. SuperShe is a social media app that was created with the purpose of being a safe…
Social Science Scholar: Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Policy Scholars Program, and Public Service Weekend.
My initial project plan was to immerse myself in various educational systems in different countries around the world in order to formulate a wholistic and ground-level understanding of educational policy in different systems. To do so, I had planned on doing a project with three separate components. First, I would have traveled to a university…
Honors Thesis Spotlight: Licensing the Undocumented: Traffic Safety and Auto Insurance Analysis
One of the most hotly debated domestic policies of the modern era has been determining the course of those living in the United States without proper legal documentation, a figure near 11 million people. At the core of the issue is a debate regarding whether the federal government ought to remove these people, provide them…
Social Science Scholar: Finance Intern for the Margaret Good Campaign and Volunteer for Representative Anna V. Eskamani
For my summer project as a 2020 Social Science Scholar, I continued and expanded upon my previous internship with the Margaret Good Campaign for Congress as a finance intern, as well as volunteered with Representative Anna V. Eskamani’s office. Margaret Good served as a Florida State House Representative. Good’s congressional bid encompassed the Sarasota area…
