Lessons from 2020 (that I can't yet prove)
Some political lessons we can learn from 2020, even if we don't have all the evidence yet.
MISCHIEFS OF FACTION
Reflections on Parties and Their Place in Politics
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How the Venezuelan Opposition Lost a Golden Opportunity and the International Community Let it Do So
Last Sunday, the world watched silently as the Venezuelan governing party (PSUV) won back control of the National Assembly. The outcome...
To Boycott or not to Boycott Elections in Non-democracies – Lessons from Venezuela
Should the opposition in authoritarian regimes participate in elections or boycott? The answer depends on the larger opposition strategy.
Symposium: What does political science teach us about opposition boycotts in Venezuela?
Four political scientists weigh in on what we know about opposition boycotts in authoritarian regimes such as Venezuela.
When Opposition Boycotts Don't Work: A Venezuelan Story
Boycotts increase the likelihood of democratic reform--but only if the non-democratic regime is somewhat weak.
Will Pelosi’s Power be Curtailed in the 117th Congress?
House Democrats’ smaller majority will likely have a counterintuitive effect on Speaker influence.
When ideology trumps democracy
Reelection concerns motivated many House Republicans to support the anti-democratic Texas lawsuit -- but ideology did too.
Trump Will Still Lead the GOP
Do not expect Trump's influence over the GOP to wane once he's out of office.
The Conversation Republicans Don’t Want to Have
The GOP needs to have a fight about whether Trump cost them the White House in 2020.
Trump's Achievement - The Complete Delegitimization of the Electoral College
By showing the abuses possible with the Electoral College, Trump has created a situation where both parties should want to kill it.
Anti-democratic 💩 happens. Is it a coup? *
In which the author ponders a better vocabulary to describe authoritarian power grabs. Amy Erica Smith A funny thing keeps happening. It...
Who will lead the House Democratic Party?
A lowdown on upcoming races for leadership posts in the U.S. House -- and why the speakership isn’t among them.
For 4 years I've written that Trump was a disjunctive leader. Now I'm not so sure.
(photo credit: Ted Eytan) The 2020 election has, for the most part, concluded, and we’ve entered the phase where, as anticipated, the...
The Party of Self-Doubt
The winning party constructs narratives for a loss.
Democracy is failing. Here’s what to do about it.
Read the room. Forget about Biden and Trump for just a moment. Look around and take stock of what’s happening. Regardless of which...
Was There Partisan Bias in the Local Administration of the 2020 Elections?
An experiment found election officials were usually unbiased, but some Republican officials provided more information to Republican voters.
A Global Perspective on Predicting the 2020 Election
By Stefan Wojcik, Ryan Kennedy, and David Lazer The US has never had an election like this before--but other countries have. Comparative...
The View "on the Ground"
Stories of what's happening "on the ground" are very useful at telling us what we want to hear.
Four out of Five Electoral Experts are Concerned about a Peaceful Transfer of Power
Experts see a high likelihood of unrest following the election, based on the Comparative Assessment of Electoral Risks (CAER).
Candidates, Campaigns, and Fundamentals in 2020
Julia Azari and Seth Masket discuss what 2020 has taught us about candidates, campaigns, and fundamentals.