Latest Research
2025 - West Eauropean Politics - Cleavage Theory Meets Civil Society: a Framework and Research Agenda has been released. The article was co-written by Alex Mierke Zatwarnicki, Endre Borbáth and Swen Hutter.
2025 - American Political Science Review - Racial Context(s) in American Political Behavior has been released. The article was co-written by Allison Anoll, Lauren Davenport, and Rachel Lienesch.
2024 - Presidential Studies Quarterly - To Caucus or Primary? Why State Parties Change Their Presidential Nomination Contests has been released. The article was co-written by Seth Masket and Caitlin Jewitt
2024 - Kansas Press - The 1976 House Majority Leadership Contest: Stepping Stone in the Transition to Conditional Party Government" has been released. The book was co-authored by Bruce Oppenheimer and Robert Peabody.
2024 - Political Research Quarterly - "Who Decides? Media, MAGA, Money, and Mentions in the 2022 Republican Primary.", has been released. The article was co-written by Seth Masket, Rachel Blum and Mike Cowburn
2024 - Democracy Fund - "Pushed and Pulled: How Attitudes About Race and Immigration Are Settling and Shifting After Trump", has been released. The report was co-written by John Sides, Robert Griffin and Michael Tesler.
2024 - American Political Science Review - "Civil Service Adoption in America: The Political Influence of City Employees.", has been released. The article was co-written by Jessica Trounstine and Sarah Anzia
2024 - Annual Review of Political Science - "NIMBYs, YIMBYs, and the Politcs of Land Use in American Cities", has been released. The article ws co-authored by Jessica Trounstine and Sarah Anzia
2023 - Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - "County-Level Segregation and Racial Diasparities in COVID-19 Outcomes," has been released. The article was co-authored by Jessica Trounstine and Sidra Goldman-Mellor
2023 - Journal of Experimental Political Science - "Ranking Candidates in Local Elections: Neither Catastrophe or Panacea," has been released. The article was co-authored by Melody Crowder-Meyer, Shana Gadarian and Jessica Trounstine.
2023 - Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory - "Do Vacancies Hurt Federal Agency Performance?" has been released. The article was co-authored by David Lewis and Christopher Piper
2023 - Cornell Law Review - "The Independent Agency Myth," has been released. The article was co-authored by David Lewis and Neal Devins
2023- American Political Science Review- "Presidential Investment in the Administrative State," has been released. The artcle was co-authored by Nicholas Bednar and David Lewis
2023 - Political Research Quarterly - "The Conditional Lawmaking Benefits of Party Faction Membership in Congress" has been released. The article was co-authored by Andrew J. Clarke, Craig Volden and Alan Wisemen.
2023 - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - "House Republicans Were Rewarded for Supporitng Donald Trump's 'Stop the Steal' Efforts" has been released. The article was co-authored by Larry Bartels and Nick Carnes
2023 - Journal of Politics - "Babies and Ballots: Timing of Childbirth on Voter Turnout" has been published. The article was co-authored by Cindy Kam, Sara Kirshbaum and Lauren Chojnacki
2022 - American Political Science Review - "The Effect of Television Advertising in United States Elections" has been published. The article was co-authored by John Sides, Lynn Vaverick and Christopher Warshaw
1/6/2021 - Science Advances - "Partisan pandemic: How partisanship and public health concerns affect individuals’ social mobility during COVID-19" has been published. The article was co-authored by J. Clinton, J Cohen, J. Lapinski and M. Trussler
12/2/2020 - Legislative Studies Quarterly, "Legislative Constraints, Ideological Conflict, and the Timing of Executive Unilateralism" has been published. The article was co-authored by Alexander Bolton and Sharece Thrower
11/13/2020- University of Chicago Pres Journals, "Partisanship, Policy, and Elections: How Medicaid Expansion Affected Public Opinion Toward the Affordable Care Act" has been published. It was co-authored by Josh Clinton and Michael Sances
9/24/2020 CSDI Working Paper - 4 - 2020 titled"Democracy Erodes From the Top Public Opinion and the Crisis of Democracy in Europe" has been released. The paper was authored by Larry Bartels
9/15/2020 - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Ethnic Antagonism Erodes Republicans' Commitment to Democracy" has been published. The article was authored by Larry Bartels
9/8/2020 - Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, "The effect of big-city news on rural America during the COVID-19 pandemic" has been published. The article was co-authoreed by Josh Clinton, Eunji Kim and Michael Shepherd
8/20/2020 - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, "The Effect of Big-City News on Rural America During the Covid -19 Pandemic" has been published. The article was co-authored by Josh Clinton, Eunji Kim and Michael Shepherd
7/20/2020 CSDI Working Paper 1 - 2020 titled "Personal Narratives Reduce Negative Attitudes toward Refugees and Immigrant Outgroups: Evidence from Kenya" has been released. The co-authors are Nicole Audette, Jeremy Horowitz and Kristin Michelitch
6/20/2020 - Election Law Journal, "The Politics of Locating Polling Places: Race and Partisanship in North Carolina Election Administration, 2008–2016" has been published. The article was co-authored by Josh Clinton, Nick Eubank, Adrienne Fresh and Michael Shepherd
5/1/2020 CSDI Working Paper 3 - 2020 titled "Work Welfare and Partisan Change" has been released. the co-authors are Larry Bartels and Katherine Cramer
4/15/2020 CSDI Working Paper 2 -2020 titled "Conceptions of Good Citizenship in the Class of 1965" has been released. The co-authors are Larry Bartels and Katherine Cramer
3/10/2020 - Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy, "Presidential Signing Statements and Separation of Power Bills" has been published. The paper was authored by Sharece Thrower
10/20/2019 - Legislative Studies Quarterly, "Legislative Constraints on Executive Unilateralism In Separation of Powers Systems" was released. The co-authors are Michael Barber, Alexander Bolton and Sharece Thrower
8/8/19 CSDI Working Paper 2 - 2019 titled "Candidate Coethnicity, Rural Dwelling, and Partisanship in Africa" has been released. The paper was co-authored by Robin Harding and Kristin Michelitch.
8/16/2019 - Public Choice - "The effect of majority party agenda setting on roll calls" has been published. The paper was authored by Josh Clinton
7/30/19 CSDI Working Paper 1 - 2019 titled "Bridge over Troubled Water: Same Gender Substantive Representation in 49 Subnational Ugandan Governments." has been released. The paper is co-authored by SangEun Kim and Kristin Michelitch.
4/19 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, "Executive Control and Turnover in the Senor Executive Service." has been published. The article was co-authored by Kathleen Doherty, David Lewis and Scott Limbocker.
Media Spotlight
Washington Post - Op-Ed 3/26/2020 - Co-Director John Sides - "Surprisingly few voters think Trump cares about ‘people like me’
Washington Post - Op-Ed 4/8/2020 - Co-Director John Sides - "Negative Views of Asian People have risen in both parties."
Washington Post - Op-Ed 10/28/2020 - Co -Director John Sides - "TV ads still win elections. And Democrats are buying alot more of them."
New York Times - Op-Ed - 6/25/2019 - Co Director Larry Bartels - "A lot of Candidates May Make it Seem Like Democracy is Working, But it is Not."
Washington Post - Monkey Cage - 6/24/19 - Co -Director David E. Lewis - Here's Why Trump is Threatening Federal Layoffs if Congress Won't Shut This Agency Down."
Washington Post - Monkey Cage - 5/21/18 - SVS Alex Theodoridis and graduate affiliate James Martherus - "Trump isn't the only one who calls opponents 'animals.' Democrats and Republicans do it to each other."
Washington Post - Monkey Cage - 5/14/18 - Co-Director Larry Bartels - "White People get more conservative when they move up - not down - economically. Here's the evidence."
Washington Post - Monkey Cage - 4/15/18 - Co-Director Larry Bartles - "How Paul Ryan Lost the Republican Party."
Washington Post - Monkey Cage - 2/21/18 - Co Director Larry Bartels - "Here's how little Americans have learned about Donald Trump."
Highlights & Happenings
CSDI Graduate Affiliate Lucas Borba receives 2025 APSA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant!
CSDI Graduate Affiliates sweep department awards!
Congratulations to graduate affiliates Lucas Borba, Patrick Buhr and Colette Marcellin for being honored with the department's yearly awards. Lucas received the outstanding graduate student paper award for "The Spatial Dynamics of State Capacity." Patrick and Colette were co-awarded the Erwin C. Hargrove outstanding teaching assistant award. Patrick taught Statistics for Political Science during the summer REU program. Colette taught CSDI's Independent Study on Survey Research and Analysis and TA'd for Participation and Political Representation in America.
The 2025 CSDI Annual brochure is hot off of the presses!
You can read all about the accomplishments and happenings here!
CSDI graduate affiliate Colette Marcellin has an Opinion Guest Essay published in the New York Times
Graduate affiliate Colette Marcellin as well as CSDI co-director John Sides and Michael Tesler (University of California, Irvine) had an opinion piece printed in the New York Times on February 27th. The essay, Republicans Really Do Care More About "Masculine Energy can be read here. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/opinion/trump-republicans-masculinity-gender-traditional.html
CSDI co-director, Larry Bartels is awarded the Presidential National Medal of Science From President Joe Biden
Former CSDI graduate affiliate, Michael Shepherd is quoted in the New York Times
Former graduate allilate Michael Shepherd who studies U.S. Health Politics and Policy work was mentioned in "How 'Rural Studies' Is Thinking About the Heartland."
CSDI Graduate Affiliates Sara Kirshbaum and Mellissa Meisels Win Department Awards
Congratulations to Sara Kirshbaum and Mellissa Meisels! Sara was awarded the 2023 Erwin Hargrove Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award and Mellissa the 2023 Best Graduate Student Research Paper Award.
CSDI Welcomes 2023-2024 Postdoctoral Fellows Amna Salam & Rachel Lienesch
Amna received her PhD from the University of Rochester in Political Science. Her research centers on strategic behavior in the legal system, and how various actors in the judiciary work to advance their ideological interests.
Rachel received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University. Her research focuses on American political behavior, political psychology, race and ethnicity, and identity. Her book project explores how individuals respond when two salient identities are put into conflict, with a specific focus on how White Democrats navigate a social and political world in which the political party they support increasingly engages in messaging that threatens their racial identity.
The Spring 2023 Vanderbilt poll was released on May 3rd
More on the poll and its findings can be found here
The Fall 2022 Vanderbilt poll was released on December 14th
More information on the poll and its findings can be found here.
CSDI is now accepting applications for 2026-27 Post-docs and Senior Visiting Scholars
Post-doctoral fellowship applicants should submit materials electronically at: https://apply.interfolio.com/177609
Senior Visiting Scholar applicants should submit materials electronically at: https://apply.interfolio.com/177613
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, but priority will be given to those received before January 5, 2026
CSDI Graduate affiliate, Michael Shepherd Wins APSA Dissertation Award
Congratulations to Michael Shepherd who has been awarded the APSA Class and Inequality Section best disseratation award for his disseratation, Unhealthy Democracy: How Partisan Politics is Killing Rural America.
CSDI Co-Director, Dean John Geer and CSDI Graduate Student, Mary Catherine Sullivan appear on MSNBC's Morning Joe
John Geer and Mary Catherine Sullivan appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe to discuss their research on American unity. Watch the entire interview.
