Headlines

Prof. Narang receives the ISSS "Emerging Scholar" award

October 4, 2019 MIT Department of Political Science

We are pleased to announce that Associate Professor Vipin Narang has won this year’s “Emerging Scholar” award from the International Studies Association’s International Security Section.

Looking under the surface of politics in Latin America

September 24, 2019 Peter Dizikes MIT News

Danny Hidalgo’s research involves looking under the surface of elections and political campaigns, and probing some of their questionable elements. It turns out there’s a lot to see down there.

News and Views

August 7, 2019 Peter Dizikes MIT News

MIT study finds partisan news coverage has a bigger impact on viewers without strong media preferences.

Devin Caughey receives the Leon Epstein Award

July 8, 2019 MIT Department of Political Science

We are pleased to announce that Silverman (1968) Family Career Development Associate Professor Devin Caughey's book, The Unsolid South, has been awarded the Leon Epstein Outstanding Book Award by the Political Organizations and Parties Section of APSA.

David A. Singer named Head of MIT Political Science

July 8, 2019 Janine Sazinsky MIT Political Science

Melissa Nobles, the Kenan Sahin Dean of MIT's School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, has announced that David Singer is the new Head of the Department Political Science, effective July 1.

3 Questions: The social implications and responsibilities of computing

May 24, 2019 Peter Dizikes MIT News

Since February, five working groups have been generating ideas about the form and content of the new MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing. That includes the Working Group on Social Implications and Responsibilities of Computing, co-chaired by Melissa Nobles, the Kenan Sahin Dean of the MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and a professor of political science, and Julie Shah, associate professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and head of the Interactive Robotics Group of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. MIT News talked to Shah about the group’s progress and goals to this point.

The (evolving) art of war

May 8, 2019 Peter Dizikes MIT News

In 1969, the Soviet Union moved troops and military equipment to its border with China, escalating tensions between the communist Cold War powers. In response, China created a new military strategy of “active defense” to repel an invading force near the border. There was just one catch: China did not actually implement its new strategy until 1980. Which raises a question: How could China have taken a full decade before shifting its military posture in the face of an apparent threat to its existence?

Caught between criminals and cops

April 16, 2019 Leda Zimmerman MIT Political Science

While investigating the impact of gang violence on Lagos, Nigeria, sixth-year political science doctoral candidate, Andrew Miller, came up with an innovative research tool: immersive, virtual reality videos.

Commerce and coercion

March 14, 2019 Leda Zimmerman MIT Political Science

"Those who study China see nationalism as a sort of narrative that the state actively creates, helping to create legitimacy for the [Communist] party," says Miura. She set out to learn whether all Chinese politics followed the central government's nationalist narrative.

A stage of their own

March 11, 2019 Leda Zimmerman MIT Political Science

For the approximately 70 political science graduate students, GSWIP serves as a training ground for preparing research, addressing colleagues and learning conference protocol. "It's a really good forum to observe the professional side of political science, including the etiquette of asking questions," says second-year PhD student Rorisang Lekalake, another GSWIP organizer.