New Books in Political Science

New Books Network

Episodes

Mentioned books

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Mar 12, 2026 • 41min

Wendy Brown, "States of Injury: Power and Freedom in Late Modernity" (Princeton UP, 2025)

Wendy Brown, UPS Foundation Professor and political theorist known for work on neoliberalism and identity, discusses how woundedness became a basis for modern political identity. She traces historical forces shaping injury-based politics. Topics include wounded attachments, limits of legal identity fixing, post-structuralism’s role, and how the left might reclaim collective freedom and a more expansive, loving politics.
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Mar 12, 2026 • 35min

Katelyn E. Stauffer, "The Politics of Perception: How Beliefs About Women’s Inclusion Shape Democratic Legitimacy in the U.S." (Oxford UP, 2025)

Katelyn E. Stauffer, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia and author of The Politics of Perception, explores how beliefs about women’s inclusion in legislatures shape trust in democratic institutions. She discusses public misperceptions about representation. She links gendered stereotypes to views of institutional competence, partisanship, and who responds to increased female presence.
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Mar 11, 2026 • 50min

Sari Hanafi, "Against Symbolic Liberalism: A Plea for Dialogical Sociology" (Liverpool UP, 2025)

Sari Hanafi, a sociologist and director at the American University of Beirut, challenges the gap between professed liberal values and illiberal practices. He introduces symbolic liberalism and urges a shift toward dialogical sociology. The conversation covers rights inflation, religion in public reason, community-focused reforms, and practical policies to rebuild genuine public debate.
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Mar 10, 2026 • 1h 9min

Populism, Polarization and Politics: Hungary on the Eve of Elections

Zsolt Enyedi, a political scientist who studies party systems and neo-authoritarian trends, and Emilia Palonen, a scholar of populism and Hungarian democratic change, discuss Hungary on the eve of parliamentary voting. They explore Fidesz’s strategic shift and civic networks. They examine polarization as hegemonic, electoral rules that amplify majoritarian advantage, campaign tactics, and risks to democratic norms.
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Mar 10, 2026 • 55min

Stuck: How Money, Media and Violence Prevent Change in Congress

Dr. Maya Kornberg, a political scientist at the Brennan Center who studies Congress, explores why reform efforts over 50 years have failed. She examines how fundraising pressures, social media spectacle, shrinking staff, centralized party power, and rising threats limit newcomers. The conversation highlights institutional barriers and offers concrete reform ideas to restore congressional capacity.
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Mar 7, 2026 • 57min

The Cave and the Coalition: Philosophy, Populism, and the MAGA New Right

Laura Field, political theorist and author of Furious Minds who studies American far-right thought, maps the MAGA New Right’s intellectual currents. She traces Straussian, Catholic integralist, manosphere, and populist strains. They use Plato’s Cave to explore why some return to the cave with prudence and others with authoritarian blueprints.
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Mar 7, 2026 • 42min

Sean Parson, "Punk Anarchism: An Anti-Politics of Resistance" (Bloomsbury, 2026)

Sean Parson, a professor of politics and environmental theory who studies anarchism and resistance movements. He traces punk, Dada, political nihilism and historical nihilist movements. He explores climate pessimism, anti-theory and playfully destructive forms of resistance. He discusses punk records, revolutionary loserism, and imagining negation as a political stance.
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Mar 4, 2026 • 54min

Elizabeth Suhay, "Debating the American Dream: How Explanations for Inequality Polarize Politics" (Russell Sage Foundation, 2025)

Elizabeth Suhay, associate professor at American University who studies public opinion and political psychology, discusses belief in the American Dream and its ties to political identity. She explores partisan divides over causes of inequality, how people learn about economic reality, changing mobility trends, and why Democrats and Republicans interpret meritocracy so differently.
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Mar 2, 2026 • 27min

Allison Carnegie and Richard Clark, "Global Governance Under Fire: How International Organizations Resist the Populist Wave" (Princeton UP, 2026)

Allison Carnegie, Columbia professor of international institutions, and Richard Clark, Notre Dame political scientist, discuss their book on how international organizations push back against populist attacks. They outline four defensive strategies, show methods behind their findings, and weigh unintended costs for legitimacy. The conversation explores practical steps IOs can take to adapt and survive in a populist age.
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4 snips
Mar 2, 2026 • 45min

Claire Provost and Matt Kennard, "Silent Coup: How Corporations Overthrew Democracy" (Bloomsbury, 2023)

Claire Provost, investigative reporter who has tracked corporate power across 30 countries, discusses her book on the rise of global corporate influence. She talks about investor-state dispute systems, ICSID’s role at the World Bank, and cases where corporations challenge state sovereignty. Short takes cover special economic zones, treaty proliferation, and why media and NGOs often miss transnational threats.

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