2020 Government Publications And Grants

Appel, Hilary. “Can the EU Stop Eastern Europe’s Illiberal Turn?” Critical Review, vol. 31, issue 3-4, 2019, pp. 255-266. [Published in 2019 but first available in 2020]

Abstract: The EU’s activation of Article 7 procedures against Hungary and Poland signals that it is beginning to take seriously the illiberal turn in Central Europe. However, the likelihood that the EU can restrain populist and illiberal tendencies in Hungary and Poland in the near future is slim. Despite the efficacy of the EU and other international organizations in promoting liberalism in these countries in the past, similar efforts are hobbled by a lack of political will and by significant bureaucratic hurdles. The impetus to protect the liberal institutions and practices developed after the collapse of communism must come from the combined efforts of additional external actors and, most of all, by strong pressure from below.

Ascher, William. The Psychology of Poverty Alleviation: Challenges for Developing Countries. Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Abstract: Designing, enacting, and protecting poverty alleviation policies in developing countries depend on understanding the psychology of relatively prosperous people called upon to make sacrifices for the poor. Yet to avert destructive conflict that undermines the well-being of both the poor and society in general, understanding the psychology of how the poor react to their plight is also crucial. By examining both successes and failures to help the poor through affirmative action, cash transfers, social-spending targeting, subsidies, and regional development, The Psychology of Poverty Alleviation demonstrates how social identities, attributions of deservingness, and perceptions of the policy process shape both the willingness to support pro-poor policies and the level of conflict over distributional issues. Strategies to secure the sustainability of pro-poor initiatives depend recognizing how the psychological considerations mash with the political, economic, and policy-design considerations. In-depth cases from Latin America, Southeast Asia, and South Asia demonstrate these points.

Blitz, Mark. “The Complicated Politics of Virtue.” Review of Virtue Politics, by James Hankins. Law & Liberty, May 12, 2020.

Blitz, Mark. “Happiness and Honor.” Review of Reason and Character, by Lorraine Smith Pangle. Claremont Review of Books, Fall 2020.

Blitz, Mark. “Local Democracy, Elite Preferences.” Review of Reconstructing Democracy, by Charles Taylor, Patrizia Nanz, and Madeleine Beaubien Taylor. Law & Liberty, June 4, 2020.

Bou Nassif, Hicham. Endgames: Military Response to Protest in Arab Autocracies. Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Abstract: The 2011 Arab Spring is the story of what happens when autocrats prepare their militaries to thwart coups but unexpectedly face massive popular uprisings instead. When demonstrators took to the streets in 2011, some militaries remained loyal to the autocratic regimes, some defected, whilst others splintered. The widespread consequences of this military agency ranged from facilitating transition to democracy, to reconfiguring authoritarianism, or triggering civil war. This study aims to explain the military politics of 2011. Building on interviews with Arab officers, extensive fieldwork and archival research, as well as hundreds of memoirs published by Arab officers, the book shows how divergent combinations of coup-proofing tactics accounted for different patterns of military behaviour in 2011, both in Egypt and Syria, and across Tunisia, and Libya.

Bou Nassif, Hicham. “Military Politics and Democratic Transition: Combining Rationality, Culture, and Structure.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, December 17, 2020.

Abstract: Rationality, culture, and structure provide useful insights into military politics by stressing self-centered motivations, norms, and large impersonal forces, respectively. The armed forces can transform popular uprisings into democratic transitions, or, alternatively, uphold the status quo. Furthermore, officers can allow nascent democratic experiments to consolidate, or they can resurrect authoritarianism. Whatever they choose to do, multiple material and ideational factors will inform their agency, and by extension, the political dynamics unfolding in transitional times.

Bou Nassif, Hicham. “Turbulent from the Start: Revisiting Military Politics in Pre-Ba‘th Syria.” International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 52, issue 3, 2020, pp. 469-488.

Abstract: This article reconsiders military politics in Syria prior to the 1963 Ba‘thi power grab in light of new sources. I undermine the presumptions that Ba‘thi tactics of sectarian favoritism in the armed forces were unprecedented in post-independence Syria. I make the following arguments: first, attempts by the Sunni power elite to tame Syrian minorities were part of a broad sequence of events that spanned several regimes and informed politics in the Syrian officer corps; second, the various military strongmen who ruled Damascus intermittently from 1949 until 1963 distrusted minority officers and relied mainly on fellow Sunnis to exert control in the armed forces; and third, the combination of minority marginalization in Syrian politics and Sunni preferentialism inside the armed forces bred enmity and polarized sectarian relations in the officer corps.

Branch, Jordan. "Be Careful What You're Learning from Those Coronavirus Maps." Washington Post, March 11, 2020.

Abstract: There's an argument embedded in every map. Here's what you need to know.

External Grant: Branch, Jordan. Virtual Territories: War and the State in a Digital Age. American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellow, 2020.

Abstract: This fellowship was granted to support the work on my current book project, titled "Virtual Territories: War and the State in a Digital Age." The project explores how digital technologies of warfare are reshaping the sovereign state. Historically, states emerged out of institutional changes driven in large part by military competition. Today, however, the technologies of war--rather than war itself--are driving state transformation. While technological innovation is forcing states to adapt, states are deploying new tools to pursue their interests and even reshaping technological systems in return. "Virtual Territories" examines three intersections between information technologies, warfare, and sovereign statehood today: planning wars in the virtual domain of cybersecurity, fighting wars remotely through drones, and negotiating resolutions to conflicts through geospatial technologies. Drawing on interviews, archival research, and a close analysis of texts, the book focuses on the role of visual, linguistic, and conceptual representations: representations of digital technologies and through them. Concentrating on representational devices and practices bridges the traditional divide between ideational and material theories of contemporary state transformation.

Busch, Andrew E. “Election Day 2 and Beyond” The American Mind, November 5, 2020.

Abstract: If there was fraud, as Trump claimed, he needs to bring evidence. He should be prepared to utilize all available judicial means to redress his grievances, but if he fails, he needs to leave the presidency with dignity: "If his presidency ends, it would not be the worst thing in the world to leave a final impression of a president who has mastered his boisterous passions and does his duty with magnanimity." (Needless to say, he does not look to me for advice.)

Busch, Andrew E. "A Letter to My Children Regarding Bernie Sanders.” Claremont Review of Books, February 28, 2020.

Abstract: As Bernie Sanders appeared poised to take the Democratic presidential nomination, I urged my children (two of whom were Bernie fans) to take a second look.

Busch, Andrew E. "The Limits of Expertise.” The American Mind, June 22, 2020.

Abstract: The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed the limitations of expertise in three ways. First, the experts know a lot, but never know everything in their area. Second, they tend to be siloed and are unaware or unconcerned with matters outside their area, but most big public policy questions—including what to do about COVID—require tradeoffs among multiple areas. Finally, claims of expertise are an effective way to stifle debate and allow policymakers to avoid accountability for controversial judgment calls behind a claim of "science."

Busch, Andrew E. Review of The Lost Soul of the American Presidency, by Stephen F. Knott. Perspectives on Politics, vol. 18 , issue 2 , 2020 , pp. 636-638.

Abstract: Knott makes the case that the presidency has declined into demagoguery largely because presidents have abandoned their role as head of state in favor of polarizing roles such as party leader. Trump is an extreme example, but also a logical outgrowth of this trend.

Busch, Andrew E., editor and co-author with Rose Institute student researchers*. The Rules and Politics of American Primaries: A State-by-State Guide to Republican and Democratic Primaries and Caucuses. ABC-CLIO, 2020.

Abstract: This book consists of two parts. Part I includes 14 chapters on a variety of topics related to the presidential nominating system, such as "How Caucuses Work," "How Primaries Work," and "The Nomination Calendar." Prof. Busch authored each of these chapters. Part II includes 57 entries—one for each state, DC, and six U.S. territories that send delegates to party conventions—providing a brief history of nomination contests in that state, some historical primary election data, and an outline of procedures that would be used in 2020. I solely authored 35 of these entries and co-authored the other 22 with student researchers at the Rose Institute.

Busch, Andrew E. "Sleepwalking Into Secession.” The American Mind, August 18, 2020.

Abstract: The Transition Integrity Project conducted four election simulations. In three, Trump lost and behaved badly. In the fourth, which received much less media attention, the Democratic stand-in for Joe Biden refused to concede, solicited alternate delegates from states with Democratic governors, and convinced Washington, Oregon, and California to threaten secession if reforms were not adopted weakening the federal structure and checks and balances. My argument was that Americans should be attentive to this danger, as well, and that well-meaning Republicans and Democrats should work together to try to get both Trump and Biden to foreswear such extreme strategies.

Busch, Andrew E. "An Utterly Ordinary Impeachment.” Claremont Review of Books, January 20, 2020.

Abstract: The impeachment of Donald Trump was consistent with the handful of other cases in American history, insofar as the circumstances which led to his impeachment (roughly speaking) were congruent with the circumstances faced by other impeached presidents: questions of electoral legitimacy, an aura of unfitness hanging over them from the beginning of their presidencies, and a sense by their opponents that their occupancy of the White House was a fluke.

Camp, Roderic Ai. “Foreword.” Surviving the Forgotten Genocide, An Armenian Memoir, by John Minassian. Rowman and Littlefield, 2020, pp. ix-xii.

Abstract: This is an autobiography by Prof. Camp’s grandfather. The Mgrublian Center for Human Rights has carefully edited and enhanced the original manuscript. It is one of only a handful of published first-hand accounts of that genocide.

Beer, Caroline, and Roderic Ai Camp. "Women in Mexico's Executive Branch: Discrimination, Family Connections, and Formal Career Paths." Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, vol. 41, issue 4, 2020, pp. 369-392.

Abstract: What explains women’s exclusion from and entry into high-level executive positions? This article analyzes the recruitment of cabinet secretaries and assistant secretaries in Mexico. We examine two potential causal factors to explain women’s exclusion from high-level executive positions: an inadequate supply of qualified women and a preference for men by those making the appointments. We also examine two potential causal factors to explain women’s entry into the executive branch: reliance on family connections and formally structured career paths. We find no evidence to support the supply hypothesis, but we do find evidence of gender discrimination in executive appointments, especially in agencies that have never had a female leader. We also find that women are no more likely than men to rely on family connections to get high-level executive appointments and that women do better in careers structured by clear qualifications and formal procedures for advancement.

Koch, Lisa Langdon. “Memory, Imagination, and the Use of Nuclear Weapons.” International History and Politics Newsletter, vol. 6, issue 1, 2020, pp 5-8.

Abstract: How we remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki has political and strategic implications for whether we can imagine using nuclear weapons again. U.S. officials in the Truman administration well understood this, and many worked either to suppress information from the public, or to educate the public, depending on their principled and strategic views regarding US investment in building a nuclear arsenal. Research demonstrates that Americans are less supportive of nuclear weapons use, and more sympathetic toward the civilian victims, when they understand what the human consequences will be. But with the passing of time, "Hiroshima and Nagasaki" may become merely symbolic - solemn abstractions, rather than human events to be imagined and remembered. In remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki, whether we center the human experience or abstract it away may affect our willingness to use the bomb again.

Lee, Chae-Jin. Reagan Faces Korea: Alliance Politics and Quiet Diplomacy. Palgrave, 2020.

Abstract: This is a unique and definitive study to reassess the complex dynamics of US-Korea diplomatic relations during the Reagan presidency. It examines the goals, methods, and legacy of Reagan’s policy toward Korea with emphasis on the realities of alliance politics and the tactics of quiet diplomacy. It questions a widely held view that Reagan showed simplistic, inattentive, and rigid approaches toward foreign affairs, arguing that his actual policy, as demonstrated in the Korea case, was more sophisticated, nuanced, and pragmatic than commonly assumed. Based on a vast amount of confidential diplomatic documents, especially in Korean, and interviews the author has conducted with US and Korean leaders, Lee sheds new light on Reagan's role in promoting democratization in South Korea as well as his engagement with North Korea.

Miller, Kenneth P. “America’s Political Future is a California-Texas Duel” USA Today, November 2, 2020.

Miller, Kenneth P. Texas vs. California: A History of Their Struggle for the Future of America. Oxford University Press, 2020.

Abstract: Texas vs. California is a detailed analysis of a classic sibling rivalry. It describes why the nation's most populous, economically powerful, and ambitious states have sharply divided and how they now compete for control of America's future. First, the book explores why, despite their many similarities, the two states have become rivals. The explanations focus on critical differences in the states' origins as well as in their later demographic, economic, cultural, and political development. Second, it describes how Texas and California have constructed opposing, comprehensive policy models--one conservative, the other progressive. In separate chapters, the book highlights the states' contrasting policies in five areas: tax, labor, energy and environment, poverty, and social issues. It also shows how Texas and California have led the red and blue state blocs in seeking to influence federal policy in these and other areas. The book concludes by assessing two models' strengths, vulnerabilities, and future prospects. It argues that the rivalry will likely continue for the foreseeable future, because California will surely stay blue and progressive and Texas will likely remain red--or at least a more conservative counterforce. The challenge for the two states, and for the nation as a whole, is to view the competition in a positive light and turn it to productive ends.

Muravchik, Stephanie, and Jon A. Shields. "The Other Democratic Party." The Bulwark, October 4, 2020.

Muravchik, Stephanie. Review of Quit Like a Woman, by Holly Whitaker. Society, vol. 57, 2020, pp. 346-348.

Muravchik, Stephanie, and Jon A. Shields. "Those Biden ‘Gaffes’? Some Key Voters Actually Like Them." New York Times, September 16, 2020.

Muravchik, Stephanie, and Jon A. Shields. “Trump: New Populist or Old Democrat?" Critical Review, vol. 31, issue 3-4, 2019, pp. 405-419. [Published in 2019 but first made available in 2020]

Abstract: Donald Trump’s victory depended on the defection of hundreds of longstanding Democratic communities. Trump appealed to these communities partly because he behaves like some of their most beloved politicians. Like the president, these politicians are brazen, thin skinned, nepotistic, and offer an older, boss-centered vision of politics. Trump—the anti-establishment outsider—appealed to voters in these communities because he resembles the local insiders. This appeal widens an old fault line inside the Democratic Party.

Muravchik, Stephanie, and Jon A. Shields. Trump’s Democrats. Brookings Institute, 2020.

Abstract: Why did hundreds of Democratic strongholds break for Donald Trump in 2016 and stay loyal to him in 2020? Looking for answers, Muravchik and Shields lived in three such “flipped” communities. There they discovered a political culture that was Trumpy long before the 45th president arrived on the national political scene. In these places, dominated by the white working-class, some of the most beloved and longest-serving Democratic leaders are themselves Trumpian—grandiose, combative, thin-skinned, and nepotistic. Indifferent to ideology, they promise to take care of “their people” by cutting deals—and corners if needed. Stressing loyalty, they often turn to family to fill critical political roles. Trump, resembling these old-style Democratic bosses, strikes a familiar and appealing figure in these communities. Although voters in “flipped” communities have often been portrayed as white supremacists, Muravchik and Shields find that their primary political allegiances are to place—not race. They will spend an extra dollar to patronize local businesses, and they think local jobs should go to their neighbors, not “foreigners” from neighboring counties—who are just as likely to be white and native-born. Unlike the Proud Boys, they take more pride in their local communities than in their skin color. Trump successfully courted these Democrats by promising to revitalize their struggling hometowns. Because these communities largely stuck with Trump in 2020, Biden won the presidency by just the thinnest of margins. Whether they will continue to support a Republican Party without Trump—or swing back to the Democrats—depends in part on which party can satisfy these locally grown political tastes and values. The party that does that will enjoy a stranglehold in national elections for years to come.

Nichols, James H., Jr. "A Discourse on the Beginning of Tacitus’ Histories.” Interpretation, vol. 46, issue 2, 2020.

Abstract: This article is a detailed commentary on the first eleven chapters of Tacitus' Histories. It deals with the situation in Rome at the beginning of 69 A.D., when Galba had become emperor after his march on Rome, with a view to articulating the fundamental themes of Tacitus' analysis of the Roman imperial form of governance.

External Grant: Bradley Foundation Research Fellowships, 2020, $25,000.

Abstract: Fellowships awarded by Prof. Nichols, on the basis of academic merit, to graduate students in political philosophy.

Clarke, Andrew J., and Emily Pears. "Conquering Space through Internal Improvements: Federal Nation-Building in Nineteenth-Century America." Publius: The Journal of Federalism, vol. 50, issue 2, 2020, pp. 256-279.

Abstract: Early American political leaders were tasked with sustaining a representative republic on a seemingly impossible scale. Their struggle to stave off political dissolution raises an important question for scholars of federalism. How can democratic governments integrate disparate political communities across a vast--and rapidly expanding--territory? We revisit the solution most often proposed by contemporary political leaders: a nationally directed system of internal improvements. Using a dataset of nineteenth-century appropriations, we find that patterns in internal improvement funding are consistent with a nation-building strategy. Congressional districts at the fringes of the republic received disproportionate support from the federal government, even after accounting for political preferences, positions of legislative authority, and sub-national spending patterns. Our research stands in contrast to existing work on internal improvements, which is primarily interested in testing theories of distributive politics, and contributes to a diverse body of research on federalism, nation-building, congressional politics, and American political development.

Emily Pears, "Popular Legitimacy: A Tenuous Proposition.” Review of Building a Revolutionary State, by Howard Pashman, and We Have Not a Government, by George Van Cleve. Tulsa Law Review, vol. 55, issue 2, 2020, pp. 277-284.

Pei, Minxin. “2020 Look Ahead: China Will be Punching Bag in US Presidential Election.” Nikkei Asia, January 1, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China and the US Must Fight Covid-19 Together.” Financial Times, March 28, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China and the US Risk Accidental War Over Taiwan.” Nikkei Asia, October 29, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China: From Tiananmen to Neo-Stalinism.” Journal of Democracy, vol. 31, no. 1, 2020, pp. 148-157.

Abstract: China's reversion to hard authoritarianism is no aberration. The development strategy formulated by Deng Xiaoping to modernize the Chinese economy under one-party rule generated endemic corruption and regime decay, but failed to institute genuine and enforceable political reforms that would prevent the return of a Mao-like figure. China's great leap backward since 2012 may dim the hopes of gradual evolutionary regime transition, but the pitfalls of strongman rule, dissipating economic dynamism under state capitalism, and escalating strategic competition with the United States will most likely reduce the long-term odds of the survival of the Chinese Communist Party.

Pei, Minxin. “China is Losing the Battle for Europe’s Hearts and Minds.” Nikkei Asia, September 14, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China Must Avoid Provoking US with Threats to Taiwan.” Nikkei Asia, June 7, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China Needs an Exit Strategy from Xinjiang.” Nikkei Asia, August 8, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China's Coming Upheaval: Competition, the Coronavirus, and the Weakness of Xi Jinping.” Foreign Affairs, vol. 99, issue 3, 2020, pp. 82-95.

Abstract: This article analyzes internal rigidities of the Chinese one-party regime and the likely crises it will face in the course of competing with the U.S. for geopolitical advantages.

Pei, Minxin. “China’s Deepening Geopolitical Hole.” Project Syndicate, July 16, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China’s Economic Bullying Will Never Work.” Nikkei Asia, July 8, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China’s Expensive Bet on Africa Has Failed.” Nikkei Asia, May 1, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China's Fateful Inward Turn: Beijing's New Economic Strategy as Spelled Out by the Resolution of the CCP Central Committee's 5th Plenum.” China Leadership Monitor, December 16, 2020.

Abstract: At the 5th plenum of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the end of October 2020, Chinese leaders unveiled a new strategy for sustaining economic development during the next fifteen years. General Secretary Xi Jinping was deeply involved in the formulation of the framework underpinning the new strategy. Although aspirational and lacking in specifics, China's new economic strategy makes it clear that Beijing will be shifting the focus of its economy inward and achieving scientific and technological self-sufficiency to improve its national security and sustain growth. Chinese leaders frame the rationale for this shift in terms of a response to radical and unfavorable changes in the external environment. They also will rely on a new "whole-of-nation" system to mobilize resources to achieve their objectives. The immediate political objective of issuing this economic blueprint seems to reassure the Chinese nation that the CCP has a plan to sustain its strategic competition with the U.S.

Pei, Minxin. “China’s Green Gambit.” Project Syndicate, December 18, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China’s Misplaced Pandemic Propaganda.” Project Syndicate, March 26, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China’s National People’s Congress Meeting Needs Substance, Not Slogans.” Nikkei Asia, May 20, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China’s Pro-Monopoly Anti-Trust Crusade.” Project Syndicate, December 31, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “China's Social Credit System: Genesis, Framework, and Key Provisions.” China Leadership Monitor, March 1, 2020.

Abstract: The Chinese government launched an ambitious program to build a social credit system in 2014. During the last six years, the State Council issued several key documents that seek to define the objectives and key parameters of such a system. Based on these documents and reports on the progress of the system in the media, it is evident that the Chinese government has made significant progress in conceptualizing and specifying the functionalities of its social credit system. At the moment, Beijing's current approach remains experimental, seeking to gradually improve the design and capabilities of the system through trial-and-error at the local levels. Judging by the ambitious goals set forth in the State Council's outline document issued in 2014, actual progress in building the system may be limited due to the immense technological and administrative challenges.

Pei, Minxin. “Chinese Diplomats Behaving Badly.” Project Syndicate, June 9, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “The Coronavirus is a Disease of Chinese Autocracy.” Project Syndicate, January 28, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “COVID-19 is Finishing Off the Sino-American Relationship.” Project Syndicate, April 29, 2020.

Pei, Minxin.” Cultural Decoupling from China Will Hurt the US.” Project Syndicate, August 18, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “Delaying Xi’s Visit to Japan Offers Chance for Real Strategic Progress.” Nikkei Asia, March 24, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “The Four Albatrosses Weighing Down Xi Jinping.” Nikkei Asia, October 7, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. "How Has the Coronavirus Crisis Affected Xi's Power: A Preliminary Assessment." China Leadership Monitor, June 1, 2020.

Abstract: The December 2019 coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan and the subsequent spread of the pandemic throughout the country and the world is the worst political crisis Chinese leader Xi Jinping has faced in his seven years in power. The party-state's poor initial response, whether due to the cover-up by local officials or Xi's own inadequate attention or poor judgment, not only reveals some of the well-known systemic flaws in the Chinese state but also exposes Xi to criticisms of questionable leadership. Yet, despite its initial missteps, the party-state managed to contain the viral outbreak quickly, largely due to its formidable capacity to mobilize the resources at its disposal. While sustaining real, albeit limited, damage to his authority for now, Xi is likely to experience greater difficulties in confronting the medium-to-long-term economic and geopolitical consequences of the pandemic.

Pei, Minxin. “How the Hong Kong Calamity Will Play Out.” Project Syndicate, May 25, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “How the U.S. and China Can Learn to Live with Each Other.” Bloomberg Opinion, April 23, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “Japan’s Geopolitical Balancing Act Just Got Harder.” Project Syndicate, September 17, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “Political Carnage of China’s Coronavirus Outbreak is Just Beginning.” Nikkei Asia, February 19, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “The Political Logic of China’s Strategic Mistakes.” Project Syndicate, July 8, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “A Roadmap for Stabilizing Sino-American Relations.” Project Syndicate, November 25, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “Trump’s Election Gift to China?” Project Syndicate, October 29, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “Trump’s Gift to China.” Project Syndicate, January 8, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “Why China’s Hard-Line Position on Human Rights is a Strategic Folly.” Nikkei Asia, November 30, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “Will the Coronavirus Topple China’s One-Party Regime?” Project Syndicate, March 4, 2020.

Pei, Minxin. “Year of the Rat Starts with Shaky US-China Trade Deal.” Nikkei Asia, January 24, 2020.

External Grant: Pei, Minxin, Editor-in-Chief of the China Leadership Monitor, Smith Richardson Foundation, 2020, $281,166.

Abstract: This grant funds the publication of this online quarterly journal from Sept. 1, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2022.

Pitney, John J., Jr. Un-American: The Fake Patriotism of Donald J. Trump. Rowman and Littlefield, 2020.

Abstract: Un-American? President Donald J. Trump has been called many names, but how can this term apply to a candidate and president whose slogan is "make America great again?" How can such a term apply to the "America First" president? Real Americanism is about ideas and ideals: truth, equality, the rule of law, patriotic service, and the hope that America can serve as an example to the rest of the world. By words and actions, Trump has disparaged all of these things. Through an examination of his record, this book tells how Trump subverts genuine American greatness.

Karch, Andrew and Shanna Rose. “Response to Karen Orren and Stephen Skowronek’s Review of Responsive States: Federalism and American Public Policy.” Perspectives on Politics, vol. 18, issue 3, 2020, pp. 899-900.

Karch, Andrew and Shanna Rose. Review of The Policy State, by Karen Orren and Stephen Skowronek. Perspectives on Politics, vol. 18, issue 3, 2020, pp. 900-902.

Rossum, Ralph A., G. Alan Tarr, and Vincent Phillip Muñoz. American Constitutional Law, Volume I: The Structure of Government, 11^th edition, Taylor & Francis, 2020.

Rossum, Ralph A., G. Alan Tarr, and Vincent Phillip Muñoz. American Constitutional Law, Volume II: The Bill of Rights and Subsequent Amendments, 11th edition. Taylor & Francis, 2020.

Muravchik, Stephanie, and Jon A. Shields. "The Other Democratic Party." The Bulwark, October 4, 2020.

Muravchik, Stephanie, and Jon A. Shields. "Those Biden ‘Gaffes’? Some Key Voters Actually Like Them." New York Times, September 16, 2020.

Muravchik, Stephanie, and Jon A. Shields. “Trump: New Populist or Old Democrat?" Critical Review, vol. 31, issue 3-4, 2019, pp. 405-419. [Published in 2019 but first made available in 2020]

Abstract: Donald Trump’s victory depended on the defection of hundreds of longstanding Democratic communities. Trump appealed to these communities partly because he behaves like some of their most beloved politicians. Like the president, these politicians are brazen, thin skinned, nepotistic, and offer an older, boss-centered vision of politics. Trump—the anti-establishment outsider—appealed to voters in these communities because he resembles the local insiders. This appeal widens an old fault line inside the Democratic Party.

Muravchik, Stephanie, and Jon A. Shields. Trump’s Democrats. Brookings Institute, 2020.

Abstract: Why did hundreds of Democratic strongholds break for Donald Trump in 2016 and stay loyal to him in 2020? Looking for answers, Muravchik and Shields lived in three such “flipped” communities. There they discovered a political culture that was Trumpy long before the 45th president arrived on the national political scene. In these places, dominated by the white working-class, some of the most beloved and longest-serving Democratic leaders are themselves Trumpian—grandiose, combative, thin-skinned, and nepotistic. Indifferent to ideology, they promise to take care of “their people” by cutting deals—and corners if needed. Stressing loyalty, they often turn to family to fill critical political roles. Trump, resembling these old-style Democratic bosses, strikes a familiar and appealing figure in these communities. Although voters in “flipped” communities have often been portrayed as white supremacists, Muravchik and Shields find that their primary political allegiances are to place—not race. They will spend an extra dollar to patronize local businesses, and they think local jobs should go to their neighbors, not “foreigners” from neighboring counties—who are just as likely to be white and native-born. Unlike the Proud Boys, they take more pride in their local communities than in their skin color. Trump successfully courted these Democrats by promising to revitalize their struggling hometowns. Because these communities largely stuck with Trump in 2020, Biden won the presidency by just the thinnest of margins. Whether they will continue to support a Republican Party without Trump—or swing back to the Democrats—depends in part on which party can satisfy these locally grown political tastes and values. The party that does that will enjoy a stranglehold in national elections for years to come.

Sinclair, Andrew. “California’s Top-Two Primary.” Election Updates, March 3, 2020.

Sinclair, J. Andrew, and Nohl M. Patterson*. “From the President to the Local DMV: Who’s to Blame?” 3Streams, November 19, 2020.

Sinclair, J. Andrew. "Party Nominations and Electoral Persuasion." The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Persuasion, edited by Elizabeth Suhay, Bernard Grofman, and Alexander H. Trechsel, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 863-884.

Abstract: US nominating institutions do not always seem to work as the conventional wisdom suggests they should. This chapter explores the intellectual puzzles of the US primary election literature, connects them to a broader comparative literature on nominations, and examines recent differences between the United States and United Kingdom. The expected relationship between institutional design and political outcomes is complicated by the environments for electoral persuasion. The chapter proposes that some recent innovations, such as California's "top-two" procedure, provide a potentially fruitful area of research for scholars to investigate the interaction between party nominations and electoral persuasion.

Sinha, Aseema. "Building an Interdependence Framework for the International Political Economy of a Rising India.” The Routledge Handbook to Global Political Economy: Conversations and Inquiries, edited by Ernesto Vivares. Routledge, 2020, pp. 528-547.

Abstract: Scholarship on India economic trajectory has focused largely on domestic political economy and developed different theoretical models to understand slow and incremental policy change, and complex analysis of class forces and evolving alliances between state and capital. Recent developments have led to a growth spurt and scholars have begun to think about global-domestic interactions, and changes in India's economic integration. This nascent literature on India's international policy economy would be well served to engage with studies of Indian foreign policy to furnish more accounts of the economic foundations of change and continuity in India's foreign policy behavior. This book chapter reviews a wide-ranging set of literatures that relate to India's political economy and foreign policy and offers an interdependence framework that synthesizes ideas and concepts from IPE with India's IPE.

Sinha, Aseema. "How Should We Study Institutions in India?" Constitutional and Democratic Institutions in India: A Critical Analysis, edited by Sudha Pai. Orient BlackSwan, 2020.

Abstract: By many accounts India is a successful democracy. Yet, many of India's democratic institutions suffer from perceived pathologies such as weak quality of debate in parliament, lack of discussion over most bills, the high number of criminals as members of parliament, and conflict of interests arising out of business representation in parliament. What explains this simultaneous success and weakness? Usually, the success of Indian democracy is attributed to voters who participate in larger numbers and on account of India's free press and civil society, which act as watchdogs. The emergence of multiparty system has also created a healthy multiparty democracy. While the role of politically astute voters and civil society organizations has been well recognized, we don't know enough about how India's democratic institutions--parliament, judiciary, election commission, and federal institutions for example--shape the quantity and quality of Indian democracy. This raises a question: What role do India's democratic and federal institutions play in making Indian democracy an active one? Does their institutional dysfunction create a larger crisis of governability--a governance deficit-- and problems for the quality--democratic quality deficit-- if not the quantity of Indian democracy? India's institutional diversity and the fecundity of the general, theoretical literature on institutions offers an opportunity to compare and analyze India's diverse democratic institutions.

Sinha, Aseema. "Two Indias.” Seminar, October 2020.

Abstract: In India, two worlds of capital and state-capital relations coexist in an uneasy embrace creating both vitality and weakness in India's growth trajectory. The first paradox is the renewal of state power combined with business influence and threat of exit as well as a lack of trust in the current government. Second, capital itself has many "faces" as a large literature documents. These two elements create a dualistic pattern of state-capital relations and internal capital variation. All generalizations about India need to account for these patterned dualities; there is no single India-wide pattern. Yet, we can use some common concepts to understand these trends and patterns. I propose four concepts that may be useful: Marketcraft, credible commitment, divided capital, and a porous fabric. I also try to address what policy responses may be necessary to address the credibility deficit and the joint effect of these dualities. These enduring paradoxes mean that reforming the current politico-economic balance will be difficult and require the ability to revive state capacity and listen to experts. In essence, the heterogeneity of types of capital, and state-capital relations will have to be kept in mind in creating a complex and calibrated national response.

Thomas, George. “Conservative Constitutionalism Beyond Originalism.” Law & Liberty, January 22, 2020.

Thomas, George. “Constitutional Law as Civic Education.” National Affairs, no. 43, 2020, pp. 177-191.

Thomas, George. “Constitutional Stupidity, Constitutional Tragedy.” The Bulwark, May 3, 2020.

Thomas, George. “The GOP is Abandoning the American Idea.” The Bulwark, July 3, 2020.

Thomas, George. “The Presidency as Performance Art.” The Bulwark, June 16, 2020.

Thomas, George. “The Republican Party’s Dangerous Anti-Democratic Turn.” The Constitutionalist, December 3, 2020.

Thomas, George. “Will Never Trump help save Democracy?” Niskanen Center, August 3, 2020.

Thomas, George. “Yes, the Constitution Set Up a Democracy.” The Atlantic, November 1, 2020.