New Books in Political Science

New Books Network

Episodes

Mentioned books

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Mar 28, 2026 • 1h 5min

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

Thomas Hegghammer, a senior research fellow and scholar of militant Islamism, discusses deceptive identity mimicry in conflict. He explores time and costly signals versus words online. Conversations cover jihadi forums, reputation systems, limits of online research, state advantage over militants, and how AI undermines time-based trust signals.
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Mar 28, 2026 • 29min

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

Mark Hlavacik, assistant professor at Texas A&M and author of Willing Warriors, studies public arguments about schooling. He traces how culture wars reshaped education from the 1970s to today. Short, vivid case studies reveal how exposés, viral classroom panics, and high-profile interventions drive heated curriculum battles. He also explores when conflict can spur better public debate and how to read education controversies critically.
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Mar 27, 2026 • 28min

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

Sarah James, an assistant professor and former K–12 teacher and principal, explores how politics and data determine when failed policies get noticed. She discusses truancy laws, contrasting data systems in Texas and Washington. Short scenes show how credible evidence can amplify marginalized voices and how political choices shape what counts as proof.
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Mar 26, 2026 • 35min

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

Tom Wells, historian of the Nixon era and author of The Kissinger Tapes, mined secretly recorded phone transcripts to illuminate a turbulent time. He discusses how he found and edited thousands of calls. Short takes cover Kissinger’s character, his secrecy and relationship with Nixon, debates over Vietnam and Cambodia, covert aid to Pakistan, Watergate links, and surprising personal anecdotes.
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Mar 26, 2026 • 49min

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

Maya Kornberg, Senior Fellow at the NYU Brennan Center and author of Stuck, studies why reformers fail in Congress. She discusses three reform waves, the traits that help newcomers push change, and how money, media, and rising political violence make meaningful reform nearly impossible. Short, sharp, and focused on what keeps Congress immobilized.
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Mar 25, 2026 • 35min

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

John B. Judis, author and journalist who writes on populism and contemporary politics. He frames Trump through a Hegelian lens as a world-historical figure. The conversation covers how exhausted political orders and populist grievances propelled him. They compare Trump to Napoleon and Caesar, discuss unintended consequences, risks of overreach, and possible fractures in the global order.
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Mar 25, 2026 • 23min

How Authoritarians Exploit Gender

Pär Zetterberg, a scholar of elections and representation, and Elin Bjarnegård, an expert on gender, violence, and authoritarianism, discuss how autocrats mix anti-gender rhetoric with token promotion of loyal women. They explain the tactics of gender bashing and gender washing. The conversation covers strategic motives, regional case studies, and the dilemmas activists face when engaging with authoritarian reforms.
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Mar 24, 2026 • 28min

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

Lucia Motolinia, an assistant professor studying institutions and legislative behavior, discusses her book on how electoral reforms reshape party incentives in Mexico. She explores the 2014 re-election reform, staggered rollout as a natural experiment, and how candidate selection, campaign finance, and renomination influence legislative loyalty and particularistic goods. The conversation highlights institutional interactions that shape political incentives.
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Mar 22, 2026 • 50min

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

Stephen G. Brooks, Professor of Government at Dartmouth and author of The Political Economy of Security, explores how economic forces shape war, terrorism, and civil conflict. He discusses sixteen economic-security pathways, the non-linear effects of development on terrorism, Adam Smith’s influence, and policy implications like cautious economic statecraft and rare-earth dependencies.
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Mar 22, 2026 • 43min

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

Paul Friesen, research associate focused on V-Dem indicators and global autocratization patterns. Kenneth Roberts, Cornell government professor and comparative politics expert. They discuss the V-Dem 2025 report's startling U.S. score drop and which institutions drove it. They map global shifts—declines in India and Indonesia, recoveries in Poland and Guatemala. Conversation closes on judicial, electoral, and societal fault lines to watch.

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