I found returning to this blog difficult for reasons that not only include adjusting to “shelter in place” realities but also because it is not easy to wrap my head around the enormity of our situation. Now that I had time to settle into the new normal (while growing my Continue Reading
Trump and Sanders: Populism and the Mobilization of Resentment
As the election of Trump and the rise of Bernie Sanders attests, Americans are living in populist times. But, what does ‘populism’ mean, and does it deserve its negative reputation? What are the sources of anger that Trump and Sanders tap into as populist candidates? Today, I delve into those Continue Reading
2020 Taylor Symposium: Inequality in Income, Education, and Health Care: Extent, Causes, and Consequences
While I polish off my next post on the effect of populism in the 2020 U.S. elections, please check out the link below for the 2020 Taylor Symposium. The event promises to have expert speakers on the very important topic of equity in income, education, and health care. 2020 Taylor Continue Reading
Expanding Minority Rights Sours Many Citizens on Democracy
In a new article, Christopher Claassen provides evidence that supports a theory that public opinion reacts to government policies by moving in the opposite direction.1 That is, if the public perceives that policy has shifted too far in one direction (conservative or liberal), their preference is for it to go Continue Reading
Deep State, Bureaucratic Resistance, or Failure of Leadership?
As someone who presently works in the public sector and having expended much labor and treasure to get a master’s degree in public administration, I take attacks on civil servants to heart. I fear that conspiracy theories that characterize career bureaucrats as disloyal members of a deep state undermine the Continue Reading
Is the United States a Democracy or Republic?
Attacks on democracy take many forms. Some volleys lodged at democracies can be directed at institutions, others attack structures, processes, and norms. One of the more insidious techniques used by demagogues to undermine democracy is to impoverish the language of political discourse, frequently using the art of sophistry1. A particular Continue Reading
Propaganda Model of the Media
In an environment when one is blasted at all sides with distorted, biased, and invented news, it is more important than ever to be an educated consumer of information. In communication theory, there is a powerful model of the media that explains how market forces shape the news we receive. Continue Reading
What is Fascism?
Teenagers and counter-culture youths often call authority figures or bullies, “Fascist!” The term has been so misused that many see it as a comically juvenile insult bereft of meaning. Historically, that was not always the case. Fascist ideology once inspired mass movements and led to a World War. Some social Continue Reading
Welcome to Politicology
I would like to thank you for visiting my site and taking a moment to read my first blog entry. I named this blog Politicology because it will focus on political theories. Living in a time when trust in journalism is at an all-time low, and when the very language Continue Reading
Manufactured Outrage and the War on Christmas
This Christmas season, I noticed how often I was greeted with “Merry Christmas!” as if I was being challenged or tested. Having recently returned from living abroad for six years, I found such encounters bizarre. Then, I read The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility by Berry Continue Reading