CPS Blog
The Center for Political Studies (CPS) is a non-partisan research center. Posts are not endorsements.
Visiting Scholar Profile: Khalil Shikaki
Post developed by Katie Brown. Growing up in Palestine during a period of political tension, Khalil Shikaki became fascinated with politics. After completing a BA in Political Science at the American University of Beirut, Shikaki pursued these questions with a PhD in...
Measuring Political Polarization
Post developed by Katie Brown and Shanto Iyengar. The inaugural Michigan Political Communication Workshop welcomed renowned political science and communication scholar Shanto Iyengar from Stanford University. Iyengar presented a talk entitled “Fear and Loathing across...
The ANES, the CSES, and the future of survey research
Post developed by John H. Aldrich (Duke University). This post is part of a series celebrating the 65th anniversary of the American National Election Studies (ANES). The posts will seek to highlight some of the many ways in which the ANES has benefited scholarship,...
Q&A on Ukraine: Troop movements, sanctions, and Russia’s plans
Written by William Foreman for Global Michigan. Reblogged here with permission. As the conflict grinds on in Ukraine, there are more questions about Russia’s intentions, the effectiveness of sanctions and what the West can do to end the fighting. These issues were...
What can statebuilding tell us about ISIL?
Post developed by Katie Brown and David A. Lake. ISIL (a.k.a. ISIS, a.k.a. Da’ish) in Syria and Iraq. Al-Shabaab in Somalia. Boko Haram in Nigeria. Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan. All of these insurgent groups have risen to power in failed states, or “ungoverned...
Ghost-House Busters: Response to an Italian Tax Evasion Program
Post developed by Katie Brown and Ugo Troiano. In Italy, would be tax evaders hide money in houses. In response, the Italian government developed a "Ghost Buildings" program which used technology to identify and monitor buildings otherwise hidden from tax authorities....
Political Ads, Emotional Arousal, and Political Participation
Post developed by Katie Brown and Kristyn L. Karl. It’s election time again. And elections bring advertising assaults by Internet, radio, and TV. In Michigan and Iowa, there is one political TV ad every two minutes. But what effect does this have on potential voters?...
And the best election predictor is…
Post developed by Katie Brown and Josh Pasek. With each election cycle, the news media publicize day-to-day opinion polls, hoping to scoop election results. But surveys like these are blunt instruments. Or so says Center for Political Studies (CPS) Faculty Associate...
Measuring and Catalyzing Change from Within: the Arab Democracy Index
Post developed by Katie Brown in coordination with Khalil Shikaki. Can measurement promote democratization in the Arab world? Khalil Shikaki, visiting scholar at the Center for Political Studies (CPS), believes the answer is “yes.” In 2006, he set out to create an...
A Different and Arguably Better Understanding of Rwandan Violence
Post developed by Katie Brown and Christian Davenport. Who did what to whom in 1994 Rwanda? This is the central question driving the GenoDynamics project directed by Center for Political Studies Faculty Associate and Professor of Political Science, Christian...
