Policy Research Seminars

Tuesday, 1:30-4:20 PM — Barbara Buckinx

Migration ranks among citizens’ top concerns, and across the world governments and political parties are advocating restrictions on border crossing. Meanwhile, a small but increasing proportion of the world’s population – less than 4% – are international migrants, and 117 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced. Recent conflicts, including the war in Sudan, have produced large-scale refugee crises. This research seminar will cover mobility and migration from different perspectives, including state regulation of movement, border enforcement, labor migration, diasporas, irregular migration, detention and deportation, refugee protection, and climate-related displacement. The primary purpose of the seminar is to give students the necessary background and tools to produce independent research.

Monday, 1:30-4:20 PM  Meg Jacobs

In 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, Americans voted Franklin Roosevelt into office. Roosevelt promised the country a “new deal” to combat the economic hardship millions were facing since the stock market crash of 1929.  The New Deal provided jobs, relief, a social safety net, electrification, labor rights, and more.  This seminar will explore the political and policy obstacles and accomplishments of the 1930s as a way of thinking about contemporary economic challenges. Students will learn about what succeeded and what failed nearly a century ago to shed light on current policy proposals. After learning about the New Deal, students will then design their own research question, using history as a lens through which to evaluate and better understand policy.

Tuesday 1:30-4:20 PM  John Londregan

The seminar has a dual purpose, on the one hand we will survey the literature on the consequences of regime type.  On the other hand, this seminar will represent the first installment of your apprenticeship as contributors to the academic literature, and so we will delve into the craft of writing a research paper on the consequences of regime type. Of course, these goals complement one another in a very natural fashion; the more you know about how research is conducted, the better you will understand the strengths and shortcomings of the existing literature on political regime type, while it is self evident that knowing more about the subject will enhance your effectiveness as a researcher.

A repeated theme in our discussion will be the futility of attempting to separate the central issues of dictatorship, democracy, and development into “economic" and “political" spheres, the subject matter of this course is an alloy of economics, politics, and even philosophy. Some of the readings are technical, and I will indicate which these are. You are encouraged to work through the more technical papers, but you are not required to master them in detail.

Because the consequences of regime type, especially and most directly with respect to political freedom, are so fraught, the policy implications of this research are particularly salient. This isn't simply an interesting problem on intellectual grounds. It is almost impossible not to care about the outcome.

Monday 1:30-4:20pm  Emily Pronin

Political partisanship and polarization sometimes seem to be the norm in American politics. We will study the psychological roots of these problems. This seminar will explore the psychological causes and consequences of people’s tendency toward partisanship and polarization in the political realm. The problem of political partisanship generally involves bias in favor of a particular cause or group, at the expense of a more objective, fair, or rational analysis. The problem of polarization involves real – or, often, perceived – vast differences between political factions that become barriers in reaching agreement, achieving compromise, and otherwise communicating peaceably and effectively. This course will introduce students to psychological research concerning fundamental aspects of human cognition, social interaction, and intergroup perception of relevance to partisanship and polarization. We will focus on careful readings of experimental (mostly) research, with the interest of growing your capabilities in processing psychological research, thinking about it critically, and developing research questions. Furthermore, you will be challenged to apply psychological findings and theory to current political problems of polarization and partisanship that are of particular interest to you, as you practice bridging the gap from basic psychological research to real-world problems. 

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM  Timothy Nelson

The United States has a higher poverty rate than almost any other developed nation. Between one-fifth and one-quarter of American children live below the poverty line, despite our government declaring a “War on Poverty” over fifty years ago. The causes and consequences of poverty touch many areas, including jobs, housing, neighborhoods, race and gender dynamics, families, schools, the criminal justice system, and political structures at both local and national levels. 

In this seminar, we will explore how poverty has been defined and measured, examine its underlying causes, and discuss its impact on people's lives. Topics will include theories of the culture of poverty, discrimination, concentrated poverty and housing markets, work and family dynamics, unequal schooling, and mass incarceration. We will also review the history of U.S. policies aimed at addressing domestic poverty and evaluate the effectiveness of current programs.

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM Sophie Meunier

European integration is much more than the common currency shared by 21 of the 27 members of the European Union (EU). It is a process that has brought peace to bitter historical enemies, facilitated the economic growth of its members, and served as an attractive beacon that has stabilized the whole region and beyond. Yet it is now facing a multiplicity of simultaneous crises, from the Russian war in Ukraine to the unraveling of the Transatlantic relationship and the rules-based liberal international order, from challenges posed by refugee flows to challenges to the rule of law and lagging competitiveness.

In this seminar, we will learn about the history, institutions, and policy functions of the European Union. We will analyze successive stages in the integration process and ask why member states transferred so much power to the EU over the years. We will read and discuss sample works using different empirical strategies and methodologies, which examine the political consequences of these transfers of power and competences to the supranational entity, both at the domestic and at the international levels. And we will reflect on the simultaneous crises currently challenging European integration from all angles.  

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM Grigore Pop-Eleches 

After a long period of democratic expansion in much of the developing world, in recent years political observers have increasingly started to worry about democratic backsliding. While this trend started more than two decades ago in places like Russia or Turkey, it has since spread to new EU members (e.g. Hungary until the 2026 elections) and even established democracies. How much backsliding has actually happened and how significant is the threat to the survival of democracy?

To answer these questions, we will first analyze several democracy indicators to establish temporal trends in different countries (and along different aspects of democracy.) Drawing on social science debates about the drivers of democracy/authoritarianism, we will then try to assess several different explanations of backsliding by analyzing statistical data (including public opinion surveys) and comparative case evidence. Students can write their research papers on any country/region and use whatever mix of quantitative or qualitative methods they find most useful for answering their research questions.

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM Markus Prior

Does public policy—laws, rules, and regulations—reflect what the public wants? This seminar offers an introduction to public opinion and its role in the policy-making process. How do we know “what the public wants”? What if “the public” cannot agree or does not know what “it” wants? What are the channels by which public opinion affects lawmakers? Under what conditions do elected officials ignore the public?

The seminar will prepare students to analyze survey data. This entails understanding question design, questionnaire development, as well as operationalization and measurement of issue opinions and policy preferences. Substantive topics include identity, the role of political knowledge, and non-attitudes. Readings and discussion will focus on the United States, but students may examine public opinion in other countries for their independent papers.

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM Tanushree Goyal

This seminar examines one of the most pressing challenges in the world today – gender inequality  – through a rigorous, data-driven lens. The course introduces students to cutting-edge quantitative and survey research on institutional and policy interventions designed to reduce gender disparities in political, economic, and social domains in diverse countries. Students will learn how gender inequality is measured, how causal relationships are identified, and why some institutional measures and interventions succeed in lowering inequality and while others fail or generate unintended consequences. 

The course emphasizes quantitative approaches to studying inequality, including the use of existing surveys, large-scale data, experimental and quasi-experimental methods, and AI. A central goal of the seminar is to equip students with the skills to design and execute original research. Over the course of the semester, students will develop a research question, construct a paper outline, replication, or pre-analysis plan, and produce a novel quantitative research paper. Students are encouraged to take a introductory course in quantitative research methods – either prior to or alongside this seminar   – to build familiarity with R, regression analysis, and basic causal inference. The instructor will provide close guidance in writing and analytical skills to help students produce a well-crafted, high-quality research paper.

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM  Lynda Dodd

Who decides the rules of democracy – and who benefits from them? In the United States, many of the most consequential political conflicts unfold not only through elections, but through legal disputes over the rules that govern those elections. Courts, legislatures, and administrative bodies all shape the “law of democracy,” raising fundamental questions about representation, equality, and the role of law in politics.

This seminar introduces students to the legal structure of the political process. We will examine core areas of election law, including voting rights, redistricting, election administration, political parties, and campaign finance. The course is organized around four broad themes. First, we consider civil liberties central to democratic participation, including free speech, protest, and assembly. Second, we examine voting rights, including restrictions on the franchise, felony disenfranchisement, and the evolution of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Third, we analyze the design of electoral systems, including redistricting, racial and partisan gerrymandering, voter identification laws, direct democracy, and institutions such as the Electoral College. Finally, we explore how law and policy structure campaigns and elected officials, addressing issues such as campaign finance, ballot access, political parties, lobbying, corruption and related offenses, government ethics, and civil liability. Students will also evaluate contemporary proposals for election law reform and consider how legal rules shape political outcomes in practice.

A central goal of the seminar is to support students in designing and carrying out original research. Students will read and assess both legal materials and social science scholarship, formulate their own research questions, and develop a junior paper over the course of the semester. Research projects may address issues such as voting access, electoral system design, campaign finance, party regulation, or broader questions about the relationship between law and democratic governance.

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM Sarah Staszak

While the U.S. judiciary has often been described as the “least dangerous branch” of government, over the course of the 20th century questions of law, politics, and policy have become increasingly intertwined. During the rights revolution era in particular, courts became an alternate venue for individuals and groups facing profound barriers to pursuing their interests through the traditional political process, and even government actors themselves began to look to the courts to settle questions not only of law, but also of policy. As more individuals and groups look to the courts to settle more types of disputes than ever before, judges today play an important role in policymaking and social change, potentially blurring the distinction between “law” and “politics.”

This seminar will focus on the role that judicial institutions play in politics and policy, and how this role has transformed over time. Readings will center on issues of whether law is separable from politics, how the judiciary has evolved in its form and function, why we increasingly look to the courts to address matters of politics and policy, and the costs and benefits of doing so. In their research, students will have the opportunity to explore theories of legal change, debates about judicial policymaking, social movements and their relationship to law and courts, changes in the judiciary and legal profession, and current and/or historical intersections of law, politics, and policy.

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM Anastasia Mann

In this seminar we will examine efforts by humans organizing at the grassroots — over time and around the world — to reckon with and move beyond systemic harms against racialized, indigenous and peasant communities. We will study various approaches including philosopher Olufemi Taiwo's constructive theory of world making and repair. Surveying diverse movements, we will ask how a comparative perspective might help us understand and advance efforts to build a brighter future in the US and elsewhere. 

History testifies loudly to human capacity for systemic cruelty against populations pushed out of the frame of care and concern. Recognizing that the consequences of systemic harm can never be undone, we will study struggles for justice, repair, and in some cases transformation. We will consider claims that have found traction and others that have been thwarted. What can this history tell us about the “cultural grammar” of societies, the convergence of particular interests at any given moment, the vagaries of power, and the philosophies and strategies of groups on the ground? This requires paying close attention to grassroots organizing, diasporic movements, and representation; to the role of states and transnational governing bodies; to history and the process of accumulated (dis)advantage.  

Each student will design a case study and a research agenda which they will develop — in a workshop mode — culminating in an individual final paper. 

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM Florencia Torche

Despite widespread commitments to equality, stark disparities in income, opportunity, and mobility persist across the globe. In recent decades, inequality has risen in many high-income countries, especially in the United States. Why, despite economic growth and technological progress, does inequality remain so widespread? And what can public policy do to address it?

This seminar explores these questions by examining overall trends in inequality and mobility, the mechanisms that produce and sustain unequal outcomes, and the consequences of inequality for individuals and societies. We will consider questions such as: Is inequality “too much of a good thing”? Does the educational system reproduce or reduce inequality? Is inequality harmful for health and well-being, including among the affluent? How does inequality “get under the skin”? Can intergenerational mobility offset high levels of inequality?

The seminar is designed to support students in developing an original piece of research. Our shared focus will be on quantitative social science research: formulating research questions, working with data, interpreting empirical evidence, and building a clear analytical argument. Students will be expected to use quantitative approaches, so the course is especially well suited to those who are curious about, or interested in, working with quantitative tools. No prior experience beyond the required courses is needed, however. Studying large, representative populations allows us to identify broad patterns, assess how widespread particular forms of inequality are, and evaluate whether relationships observed in smaller or more selective settings support broader claims and policy implications.

Throughout the course, we will draw on empirical research, normative debates, and case studies to understand how public policy can both reflect and reshape the distribution of opportunity.

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM  Hye Young You

What do Apple Inc., Princeton University, the National Rifle Association, and the American Farm Bureau Federation have in common? They are all interest groups—organizations that seek to shape public policy and political outcomes. Interest group politics lie at the heart of American democracy, influencing elections, policymaking, and representation.

This junior seminar explores how interest groups and citizens attempt to make their voices heard in the U.S. political system, with a focus on campaign finance, lobbying, and political access. Topics include:
(1) Who donates to political campaigns, and how do donors differ from non-donors?
(2) How do campaign finance laws shape electoral outcomes?
(3) How and why do interest groups target legislators, congressional staff, executive agencies, or the courts?
(4) How can we measure the policy influence of interest groups?
(5) Do different types of organizations—corporations, municipalities, foreign governments—pursue distinct political strategies?
(6) What role do political connections and officeholding play in interest group effectiveness?

As a junior seminar, this course emphasizes the development of independent research skills. Students will engage closely with the academic literature, identify original research questions, and develop their junior papers under faculty guidance. The course is designed to support students through all stages of the research and writing process.

Monday 1:30-4:20 PM Chuck Cameron 

TBD