Law & Politics
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Bias May be Implicit in Current Law on Search and Seizure
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Over the past several years, questions about racial bias in law enforcement have commanded a great deal of public attention. Across the country, citizens have called for reforms to address—and hold police accountable for—racially motivated misconduct. Many municipalities have instituted substantial reforms. But not all police activity is regulated by…
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Mental Health Crises Significant Factor in Police Shootings
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As police officers’ use of lethal force has come to dominate the news cycle, considerable evidence has established a connection between police violence and the race of its victims. The dangers of a poorly trained police force extend beyond those posed to specific racial minorities. One group at particular risk…
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In Congress, Are Polarized Politics a Sign of Good Representation?
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In America today, there is a growing consensus that our politics are becoming increasingly polarized—especially in the U.S. House of Representatives. Many scholars argue that this polarization has had a negative impact on the policy making process. They have argued that, as members of Congress edge toward the ideological extremes…
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The relationship between Autocracy, Democracy, and Terrorism
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The manifestation of terrorism in a given country is typically a function of the country’s institutional mechanisms and internal stability. These, in turn, are directly influenced by the political institutions that govern the country. In a recent paper, economist Khusrav Gaibulloev and political scientists Todd Sandler and James Piazza consider…
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Elite Misperceptions: Examining Asymmetry in Partisan Political Participation
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Do politicians truly represent the populations they serve? Recent research may provide an answer. David E. Broockman and Christopher Skovron’s recent paper asserts that there is a systemic incongruity between true public opinion and elected officials’ perceptions of public opinion. Using a survey that sampled over 3,500 state representatives across seven…
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From the Vault, February 2013: The Great Gun Regulation Debate
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This article was originally published on February 25, 2013. Link to original article here. Gun sales in the United States are a huge business; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ran 19.5 million firearm background checks in 2012 alone. The recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, has reignited the national debate…
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Freedom of Information in Mexico: Not So Free
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The Freedom of Information Act in Mexico—also known as FOIA—provides a process for citizens to gain access to information about the way their society is working. Ideally, these requests are fulfilled without regard to the political power of the person making them, and thereby serve to increase transparency in governance.…
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How Rising Property Taxes Engender Regressive Taxation
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As the old adage goes, two things in life are guaranteed: death and taxes. While it may not be lethal, some Cook County residents are in for a surprise when they open their next property tax bill. Reports indicate that between 2015-2016, the average property tax rate for a Chicago…
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How Jurisprudence Encouraged Whites to ‘Reverse Pass’ as Black
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Remember Rachel Dolezal? An instructor of Africana Studies at Eastern Washington University and president of the Spokane chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Dolezal hid her racial origin until 2015 when an intrepid reporter unmasked her. A follow-up with her parents revealed the truth:…
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Karen Tumulty on Journalism in the Era of Trump
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Editor’s Note: The following interview has been edited for length. Click here for the entire interview in podcast form. This interview is a collaboration between the Chicago Policy Review and the University of Chicago Public Policy Podcasts (UC3P). What’s it like reporting in the age of Trump? Are the differences demonstrated…
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A Dissonant Fantasy: Why Authoritarians on the Left Disengage from Politics
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From the United States to France, from Turkey to the Philippines, the rising specter of authoritarianism across the globe has frightened proponents of liberal democracy. Among those invested in the current world order, the discourse now confronts whether democratic norms and institutions will be enough to maintain the status quo.…