Political Science

Political Science

episodes

The New Books in Political Science podcast provides lively discussions of politics based on the work of political scientists (and scholars concerned with politics in other disciplines). The podcast thinks holistically about politics – from global to local.

Our hosts! Lilly Goren is professor of Political Science at Carroll University, Waukesha, Wisconsin. Susan Liebell is professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. Lamis Abdelaaty is associate professor of Political Science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs.

Andrew Thomas Park, "Sarah Wambaugh and the Plebiscite: The Turbulent History of a Democratic Alternative to War" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

April 7, 2026

Sarah Wambaugh and the Plebiscite

Andrew Thomas Park
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In Sarah Wambaugh and the Plebiscite: The Turbulent History of a Democratic Alternative to War (Cambridge UP, 2026) Dr. Andrew Park tells the story of…

Ho-fung Hung, "The China Question: Eight Centuries of Fantasy and Fear" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

April 6, 2026

The China Question

Ho-fung Hung
Hosted by Lucas Tse

"The contempt and naive idealization of China are two sides of the same coin. The latter cannot be an antidote to the former." So argues Ho-Fung Hung…

Alex Diamond, "Governing the Excluded: Rural Livelihoods Beyond Coca in Colombia's Peace Laboratory" (U Chicago Press, 2026)

April 6, 2026

Governing the Excluded

Alex Diamond
Hosted by Sneha Annavarapu

The Colombian village of Briceño might, at first glimpse, look like many communities in the rural Global South. Many of the people living there rely o…

Hilary Matfess, "After Liberation: Women and the Politics of Expectations in Rebel-to-Party Transitions" (Stanford UP, 2026)

April 5, 2026

After Liberation

Hilary Matfess
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

War offers opportunities for women to liberate their communities and build a better life for themselves. When women join rebel groups, they often take…

Stephen Onyango Ouma, "Africa Unbound: Decolonial Pathways to Sovereignty and Liberation" (Brill, 2026)

April 5, 2026

Africa Unbound

Stephen Onyango Ouma
Hosted by Amisah Bakuri

I had a substantive conversation with Dr. Stephen Onyango Ouma, author of Africa Unbound: Decolonial Pathways to Sovereignty and Liberation (Brill, 20…

Marta Lorimer, "Europe As Ideological Resource: European Integration and Far Right Legitimation in France and Italy" (Oxford UP, 2024)

April 5, 2026

Europe As Ideological Resource

Marta Lorimer

How did the far right go from illegitimate fringe to contender for public office, and did Europe have anything to do with it? Europe As Ideological Re…

The Gen Z Revolution in Bangladesh and Its Fallout

April 2, 2026

The Gen Z Revolution in Bangladesh and Its Fallout

with Arild Engelsen Ruud, Mubashar Hasan, and Ishrat Hossain

What role did Gen Z play in the popular uprising that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime in the summer of 2024? And what marks have the upris…

Thorsten Gromes, "Sustaining Peace After Civil War: Insights from 48 Recent Cases" (Springer, 2026)

March 31, 2026

Sustaining Peace After Civil War

Thorsten Gromes
Hosted by Sidney Michelini

Sustaining Peace After Civil War: Insights from 48 Recent Cases (Springer, 2026) examines one of the most important questions in peace research: What …

Mark Pennington, "Foucault and Liberal Political Economy: Power, Knowledge, and Freedom" (Oxford UP, 2025)

March 30, 2026

Foucault and Liberal Political Economy

Mark Pennington

This highly original and innovative book is the first to comprehensively engage the ideas of the French social theorist and philosopher Michel Foucaul…

Mark Hlavacik, "Willing Warriors: A New History of the Education Culture Wars" (U Chicago Press, 2025)

March 28, 2026

Willing Warriors

Mark Hlavacik
Hosted by Laura Kelly

How the rise of the culture wars afflicts the politics of education. On August 9, 2022, the Denton Independent School District held a meeting to add…

On Our Continuing Age of Oil with Journalist Stanley Reed

March 28, 2026

On Our Continuing Age of Oil

Stanley Reed
Hosted by Paul Starobin

Stanley Reed has been covering energy and the Middle East from London for more than three decades, most recently for The New York Times. With the war …

Thomas Hegghammer and Diego Gambetta eds., "Fight, Flight, Mimic: Identity Mimicry in Conflict" (Oxford UP, 2024)

March 28, 2026

Fight, Flight, Mimic

Thomas Hegghammer and Diego Gambetta
Hosted by Lucas Tse

Time spent and words spent—what does each signal? Deceptive mimicry—the manipulation of individual or group identity—includes passing off as a differ…

Sarah James, "The Politics of Failed Policies" (Oxford UP, 2025)

March 27, 2026

The Politics of Failed Policies

Sarah James
Hosted by Stephen Pimpare

The Politics of Failed Policies (Oxford UP, 2025) examines how the interplay of politics and data affects when failed policies get recognized. It show…

Tom Wells, "The Kissinger Tapes: Inside His Secretly Recorded Phone Conversations" (Oxford UP, 2026)

March 26, 2026

The Kissinger Tapes

Tom Wells
Hosted by Charles Coutinho

A richly detailed collection of transcripts of Henry Kissinger's secretly recorded phone conversations from his time in the Nixon administration that …

Maya L. Kornberg, "Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress" (JHU Press, 2026)

March 26, 2026

Stuck

Maya L. Kornberg
Hosted by Ursula Hackett

Why fifty years of changemaking and reform haven't fixed Congress—and what that reveals about American democracy. Congress, the central democratic ins…

On Trump as a “World Historical Individual” with author John B. Judis

March 25, 2026

On Trump as a “World Historical Individual”

John B. Judis
Hosted by Paul Starobin

The philosopher G.W.F. Hegel “viewed history as consisting of stages punctuated by times of upheaval,” the author John B. Judis wrote in a recent essa…

How Authoritarians Exploit Gender

March 25, 2026

How Authoritarians Exploit Gender

with Elin Bjarnegård and Pär Zetterberg
Hosted by Nic Cheeseman

Gender is becoming a central battleground in contemporary authoritarian politics, but how do autocrats manipulate these debates to their own advantage…

Lucia Motolinia, "Unity through Particularism: How Electoral Reforms Influence Parties and Legislative Behavior" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

March 24, 2026

Unity through Particularism

Lucia Motolinia
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Why do supposedly accountability-enhancing electoral reforms often fail in young democracies? How can legislators serve their constituents when partie…

Stephen G. Brooks, "The Political Economy of Security" (Princeton UP, 2026)

March 22, 2026

The Political Economy of Security

Stephen G. Brooks

In his new book, The Political Economy of Security (Princeton University Press, 2026), Stephen Brooks provides a systematic empirical and theoretical …

A Year of Autocratization: Steep Declines in Democracy Registered in 2025 V-Dem Report

March 22, 2026

A Year of Autocratization

with Kenneth Roberts, Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government, Cornell University Paul Friesen, Research Associate, Brooks Center on Global Democracy, Cornell University

This week on Democracy Dialogues, host Rachel Beatty Riedl speaks with Kenneth Roberts and Paul Friesen, democracy experts at Cornell University, to u…