Seth Masket
Fine, Dems are in Disarray. Here's Why.
The normal calculations a party makes when deciding on a nominee have been short-circuited this cycle.
MISCHIEFS OF FACTION
Reflections on Parties and Their Place in Politics
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Candidates flying around New Hampshire like the snow.
This year, I'm taking Georgetown students on a tour of early state nomination contests. While in New Hampshire, we stopped by the debate...
Julia Azari
It was a bad week for unwritten rules. What does this mean?
The decline of norms has become a common criticism of Trump era politics. The violation of unwritten rules ties together some of the...
Realignment in the precinct caucuses can be more arbitrary than an Electoral College reversal
By now, the comparisons between the Iowa Caucuses and the Electoral College are becoming apparent. Bernie Sanders has been leading in...
The Iowa Caucuses look crazy from a distance, but you should see them up close...
This year, I took a group of Georgetown's best students to Iowa to see the nation's first caucuses unfold. (I'm taking groups to New...
Trump, Pelosi, and the Decline of Institutional Roles
Bad behavior at yesterday's State of the Union address signals a continuing decline in the respect that our leaders have for institutions.
Seth Masket
At the end of the invisible primary
As the invisible primary comes to an end, a look at how much work the party has already done.
Amy Erica Smith
When It Comes to Impeachment, False Negatives are More Dangerous for Democracy than False Positives
Here's what we learn about impeachment from statistics, democratic theory, and a tour through Latin America. It bodes ill for US democracy.
Julia Azari
Bernie Sanders is the logical successor to the Trump presidency
As the Iowa caucuses approach, there’s been lots of talk on the internet about whether Bernie Sanders can win. He’s gained support in the...
Seth Masket
The Case for Covering Bernie Differently
Sanders has significant strengths, but may have a harder time than other candidates in translating those into a majority of delegates.
What Andrew Johnson’s impeachment may tell us about Trump’s
Brenda Wiseapple's book The Impeachers suggests ways that Trump's impeachment is not so different from Andrew Johnson's.
Seth Masket
Why Political Science Doesn't Like Term Limits
The political science literature on term limits is almost uniformly negative.
Impeachment fits Trump's populist strategy perfectly.
Donald Trump’s electoral appeal is populist. It is populist in the specific sense in which Cas Mudde and Cristobal Rovira Kaltwasser...
Most House Democrats will vote to impeach Trump. Is pressure from party leaders the reason why?
Pelosi says she is not whipping this week’s impeachment vote. The truth is more complicated.
How Star Wars Reflects – and Shapes – Real-World Politics
The Star Wars universe not only tells us things about politics, but reflects and even shapes politics in the real world.
Seth Masket
Yes, parties can become less democratic, too
Want to make parties less democratic? It turns out state parties do this quite a bit.
Seth Masket
The Mandalorian, and when government fails
How "The Mandalorian" shows the problems of Imperial decline.
The Staff
Political beings are we, not this crude matter.
Announcing some political "Star Wars" content as we await the new film.
Julia Azari
Kamala Harris is out. What have we learned about party politics?
ProPublica’s Dara Lind tweeted earlier today that the correct analogy for Kamala Harris was the 2016 bid of Scott Walker – not Marco...
The Staff
Not all Democratic primary voters are as “woke” as your Twitter feed
Many engaged Democrats debate the merits of the large field of presidential candidates on social media, and this conversation can...