Volume 135 - Number 2 - Summer 2020
Political Science and Big Data: Structured Data, Unstructured Data, and How to Use Them Jonathan Grossman and Ami Pedahzur examine how political scientists analyze and write about big data. They discuss the limitations of using structured big data for quantitative purposes, demonstrate the potential of unstructured big data for historically oriented political research, identify the main challenges of such research, and propose ways to overcome them.
Volume 135 - Number 2 - Summer 2020
Intelligence in the Cyber Era: Evolution or Revolution? Tim Stevens consider whether the cyber era ushered in an intelligence revolution and identify areas of continuity and change in intelligence priorities and rationale in the Anglo-American intelligence communities. They argue that the cyber era is a technological revolution, but not an intelligence revolution.
Volume 135 - Number 1 - Spring 2020
What “The Cult of the Irrelevant” Neglects (And Gets Right): A Review Essay The Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security which argues that political science’s emphasis on methodology has made it irrelevant to policymakers. Musgrave disagrees and argues that political scientists’ sophistication has made them more useful to policymakers but that the obstacles to research influencing policy lie on the demand side.
Volume 135 - Number 1 - Spring 2020
Obama, Congress, and Audience Costs: Shifting the Blame on the Red Line Sarah Burns and Andrew Stravers analyze President Barack Obama’s decisions regarding Libya in 2011 and Syria in 2013 and 2014. Using statistical and case study evidence they argue that Obama’s request for congressional support in 2013 was an excuse to avoid action and audience costs rather than a genuine effort to gain congressional support for military action.
Volume 135 - Number 1 - Spring 2020
Chinese Domestic Politics and the Internationalization of the Renminbi Hyoung-Kyu Chey AND Yu Wai Vic Li discuss the domestic politics surrounding the internationalization of the Chinese renminbi. They argue that the Chinese central bank played a leading role in the process because domestic financial reforms necessitated by the internationalization of the renminbi strengthened its own core institutional interests and enhanced its monetary policy effectiveness.
Volume 135 - Number 1 - Spring 2020
Do Global Publics View Human Rights Organizations as Handmaidens of the United States? David Crow and James Ron look at how global publics view the relationship between human rights organizations and the U.S. government. They argue that ordinary people across various world regions do not perceive human rights groups as “handmaidens” of U.S. foreign policy.
Volume 134 - Number 4 - Winter 2019–20
The Symbolic Politics of Poverty in the United States: A Review Essay Elizabeth Rigby reviews two recently published books on the politics of poverty in the United States: Lawrence J. McAndrews’s The Presidents and the Poor: America Battles Poverty 1964-2017 and Kristina C. Miler’s Poor Representation: Congress and the Politics of Poverty in the United States . Rigby argues that the books highlight that while policymakers continue calls for action on the issue of poverty, the actual policy response has been limited and the problem of poverty remains largely unsolved.
Volume 134 - Number 4 - Winter 2019–20
How Foreign Policy Shapes American National Identity PAUL T. McCARTNEY discusses how foreign policy has shaped American national identity. He argues that American national identity has changed since the nation’s founding and that foreign policy contributed to this evolution.
Volume 134 - Number 4 - Winter 2019–20
Process Learning in Foreign Policy: From the Bay of Pigs to the Berlin Crisis Rebecca Friedman Lissner introduces the concept of foreign policy “process learning” and applies it to a comparative case study of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Berlin crisis in the first year of the Kennedy administration. She argues that under certain conditions leaders can and do learn from foreign policy failures.
Volume 134 - Number 4 - Winter 2019–20
Striking a Blow for Unity? Race and Economics in the 2010 New Orleans Mayoral Election Marcus Coleman , and Allan McBride analyze the 2010 New Orleans mayoral election. They find that racial, economic, and partisan context affected voting behavior. They argue that analytical approaches that account for the effects of social context on political behavior are important to understanding urban politics.
