Law & Politics
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Rebuilding Michigan with Clean Energy: A Conversation with Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm
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Jennifer Granholm served as the former two-term Governor of Michigan (2003-2010), and Michigan Attorney General (1999-2003). Granholm lead Michigan through unprecedented economic hardships while pioneering clean energy policies and diversifying the state’s economy. I feel compelled as a Harris policy student to ask what many of my peers have been…
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How Should We Understand Alliance Formation in a Multilateral World?
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For several decades, bilateral modeling has been the central tool in much of the theoretical and empirical research on alliance formation. Theoretical investigations into alliance formation were traditionally rooted in dyadic game-theoretical frameworks that feature two primary parties. For example, these models might examine the trade-off of an alliance relationship…
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How Fear of the Future Causes Political Gridlock
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Gridlock can occur even when the same political party controls both houses of the U.S. Congress, as we have seen through the beginning of the Trump presidency. Gridlock bogs down the wheels of bureaucracy and makes it difficult to agree even on legislation that is beneficial to both parties. A…
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On Populism: Remarks by Dr. Ernesto Zedillo at the 2017 Latin American Policy Forum
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Publication Note: These remarks were delivered by Dr. Ernesto Zedillo at the 2017 Latin American Policy Forum, which took place on April 21, 2017 at the University of Chicago. We thank the Harris School of Public Policy, Latin American Matter(s), and Dr. Zedillo for the opportunity to publish this transcript, which…
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Political Donations Indicate That Federal Court Clerks Skew Left
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Republicans refused to hold hearings on President Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, and now Democrats are threatening to do the same for President Trump’s nominee, Neil Gorsuch. This gridlock is just one example of how all three branches of the U.S. federal government have become politicized. But…
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Understanding the 2016 U.S. Election: Evidence from European Populism
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Donald Trump’s unexpected electoral victory has raised several questions about the future of American and global politics, but one question that political pundits have focused on is how President Trump was able to garner a groundswell of populist support. Political scientists Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris evaluate two theories, one economic…
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Covering Policy in the Trump Era: A Conversation with Matthew Yglesias
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NPR recently released a poll that found only half of respondents were aware that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) had led to a decrease in the number of individuals without health insurance — arguably the legislation’s chief accomplishment. Yet very few people — only 14 percent of those polled —…
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Technologies that Matter: How BallotReady is Educating Voters
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BallotReady is an online voting guide for local, state, and federal elections. It provides a free guide with information on more than 20,000 candidates across 25 states and Washington, D.C. that helps voters make better-informed decisions. The Director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago, David Axelrod, sits…
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Toward an Inclusive Democracy: The Positive Impact of Preregistration Laws on Youth Voter Turnout
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Low turnout among young voters in the United States has recently garnered attention, prompting policymakers and political scientists to design electoral reforms aimed at bringing young Americans into the public decision-making process. The most common strategies have included early voting and online voter registration; however, some scholars have also urged reforms aimed at reducing…
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Refugee Protection in Turkey: Evaluating Needs and Challenges
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Since the beginning of the civil conflict in Syria, 2.7 million refugees have fled to Turkey, which hosts the greatest number of Syrian refugees in the world. Despite Turkey’s support hosting Syrian refugees, long-term integration efforts still need to be developed to ensure the successful resettlement of refugees. In a…
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What Will Economic Policy Look Like Under Trump? A Conversation with Austan Goolsbee
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While there is obviously a great deal of speculation regarding specifics, the general contours of President-elect Trump’s economic plan seem to include large tax cuts, particularly for wealthy individuals and corporations, aggressive deregulation of the financial and fossil fuel industries, a more protectionist stance on trade issues, and perhaps some…