Political scientist Mark Tessler, a professor at the University of Michigan in the United States, notes that the emergence of center parties that stand out in certain elections is not new on the Israeli political scene.¶¶”These center parties usually come and go. Sometimes, when they do well at the polls, they end up joining the… Continue reading Trump and Netanyahu: the challenges at the polls of two of Bolsonaro’s leading international allies

The U.S. also lacks the kind of politicized military that lets some discredited autocrats, like Venezuela’s Nicholás Maduro, hang on. “I can’t imagine the military accepting an effort to turn them into a partisan arm of the executive,” said Robert Mickey, a political scientist at the University of Michigan who researches the history of authoritarianism… Continue reading How Trump Could Lose the Election and Remain President

Pew isn’t the only organization that does these kinds of surveys. University of Michigan political scientist Jon Miller and the National Science Foundation have, separately, run similar polls going back decades. And all three sets of data — Pew’s, Miller’s and NSF — suggest that our national grasp of scientific fact isn’t too shabby.¶¶“I think… Continue reading Americans Are Smart About Science

“After Barack Obama, they are facing voters that want more than symbols when it comes to race. … As a black person trying to become president, it’s a difficult terrain to travel that is bound up in questions about your background, history and policies. They are talking about race more and doing it in more… Continue reading Vincent Hutchings discusses the difficult terrain black presidential candidates face after Barack Obama

He cited randomized maps drawn by Jowei Chen, a political science professor and election maps expert at the University of Michigan, and noted that North Carolina’s gerrymander was “not the result of chance. You can only achieve it by making partisan advantage the predominant motivation.”

Allen Hicken, professor of political science at the University of Michigan, noted that while Thaksin’s words read as “sour grapes,” the allegations have been circulating widely.¶¶He said he considered the three most troubling issues to be the delayed result announcements, turnouts exceeding 100 percent and a large number of invalid ballots.¶¶Hicken said he would withhold… Continue reading Top Thai Parties Jostle for Power After First Election Since the Coup

CPS faculty Jowei Chen has provided expert testimony in North Carolina’s redistricting case. He ran 1,000 simulations to create valid maps that equalize populations, minimize county splits and maximize compactness – traditional goals for drawing the maps.

Nicholas Valentino, an expert on partisanship at the University of Michigan, said the American public is even more polarized now than it was in Clinton’s time, and that may further insulate Trump politically.¶¶“There are fewer moderates in the Republican Party now that will be offended by anything Trump does,” Valentino said.

The sister of the king of Thailand will run for prime minister, upending the palace’s tradition of eschewing politics & setting up a surprise contest with the leading military-backed candidate. @umisrcps Allen Hicken joins the conversation:

CPS faculty member Brian Min uses satellite imagery to determine whether a place has electricity. His research reveals that certain places get brighter shortly before elections, suggesting politicians lean on power companies to minimize blackouts.