CPS Blog
The Center for Political Studies (CPS) is a non-partisan research center. Posts are not endorsements.
Objectivity without detachment: the academic journey of Mark Tessler
Developed by Katie Brown and Mark Tessler If you ask Mark Tessler about the trajectory of his work, he smiles. His career path was never planned; rather he took advantage of unexpected opportunities along the way. Among these was the chance to spend part of his...
Cause to effect to cause to effect to…
Developed by Katie Brown in coordination with Robert Franzese The map to the left shows Europe during World War I, including Italy and Romania. Can a graph illustrate how Italy’s decision to enter the war influenced Romania’s decision to do so? Social scientists seek...
Does better measuring of race mean a better understanding of health?
Developed by Katie Brown in coordination with John Garcia Center for Political Studies (CPS) and Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Researcher John Garcia studies this phenomenon. In a forthcoming paper, “Race as Lived Experience:...
Vote fraud knows no geographical boundaries
Developed by Katie Brown and Jill Wittrock in coordination with David Backer, Allen Hicken, Kirill Kalinin, Ken Kollman, and Walter Mebane Voter fraud is an important problem, and it knows no geographical boundaries. In the last two months alone, allegations of voter...
From Soviet international relations to surveys of Russian elites, a career changes with geopolitics
Developed by Katie Brown in coordination with William Zimmerman. This post is part of a series that explores how Center for Political Studies (CPS) researchers came to their work. As an undergraduate at Swarthmore College, William "Bill" Zimmerman studied under...
How research experience influenced a career in political science: the case of Josue Gomez and CLEA
Developed by Katie Brown and Josue Gomez. This is the first post in a series about students working on research projects in the Center for Political Studies (CPS). Here, we profile Josue Gomez, whose work on the Constituency-Level Elections Archive (CLEA) helped...
The future of affirmative action is unclear, but public opposition remains stable
Post developed by Katie Brown. In June of this year, the Supreme Court of the United States maintained the legality of affirmative action programs at American colleges and universities – for now. The Supreme Court’s seven-to-one decision pushes American colleges and...
Moscow elites and the future of Russia
Post developed by Katie Brown in coordination with William Zimmerman. In recent months, many U.S. headlines have cast Russia in a negative light. With the 2014 Winter Olympics set to take place in Sochi, Russia, worries about the host country’s homophobia and racism...
Does the order of names on a ballot affect vote choice?
Developed by Katie Brown in coordination with Josh Pasek. American elections are traditionally held the first Tuesday in November. On this first Tuesday in November, we present a post on ballots in honor of elections. Ballots list all candidates officially running for...
Tracing incarceration along family trees
Developed by Katie Brown in coordination with Rosemary Sarri In June of 2013, Sesame Street debuted its first character with a parent in prison. The Sesame Street website now features a page of video clips and guides to help children facing this situation. But how...
