Faculty Research Interests
UMass Political Science Faculty have a variety of research interests. To see their research clusters, click here!
Faculty
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Amel Ahmed
Interests: My main area of specialization is democratic politics, with a special interest in the dynamics of elite vs. popular control over democratic decision-making. I am currently working on several projects which examine the politics of institutional... |
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Roberto Alejandro
Interests: My research interests include Greek philosophy and tragedies, Nietzsche, contemporary liberal theory, and American political thought. Civic Research: As part of my civic work in Puerto Rico, I have written several essays on social issues. These... |
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Sonia E. Alvarez
Interests: I am the Director of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies (www.umass.edu/clacls) and Leonard J. Horwitz Professor of Latin American Politics and Studies. My fields of expertise include Latin American politics, with a focus... |
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Ivan Ascher
Interests: I specialize in modern political and social theory. My current research is on the continued relevance of Karl Marx and Max Weber for a critique of contemporary capitalism. I am also developing a new research project on the university in the age... |
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Maryann Barakso
Interests: My primary research interests include US and transnational interest group/NGO governance, health care politics, U.S. social movements, civic engagement, American political development and women in politics. You can follow me... |
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Angelica Bernal
Interests: I specialize on issues of founding and refounding, popular constitutionalism, and indigenous rights and movements in Latin America. I am interested in examining the mechanisms and challenges involved in the creation and recreation of... |
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John Brigham
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Brenda K. Bushouse
Interests: My research interests focus on the role of nonprofit organizations in the policy process. My substantive focus is early childhood policy. Currently I am exploring the use of network methodologies to understand how nonprofit... |
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Charli Carpenter
Interests: My teaching and research interests include national security ethics, the laws of war, transnational advocacy networks, gender and political violence, war crimes, comparative genocide studies, humanitarian affairs and the role of information... |
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Barbara Cruikshank
Interests: My research interests include modern and contemporary social and political theory, the history of reform, social movements, the politics of sex and sexuality, and relations of power and knowledge. |
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Diane Curtis
Interests: My teaching interests are primarily in the fields of Constitutional, Family and Privacy Law, as well as Legal Education. |
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Bruce A. Desmarais
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Carlene J. Edie
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Jane Fountain
Interests: My research interests include institutional and organization theories; economic sociology; information technology and governance; public policy and management; science, technology and public policy; and gender, race and ethnicity in the context of... |
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Alan Gaitenby
Interests: Alan Gaitenby is a senior lecturer in legal studies. His interests range from the construction of socially meaningful spaces (online and off) to the political and social implications of the discourse of exposure / privacy, and the... |
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Sheldon Goldman
Interests: My research interests include the politics of judicial selection and confirmation, the backgrounds and career paths of lower federal court judges,and the politics of constitutional law and civil liberties. |
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Peter M. Haas
Interests: My research interests include international relations, international relations theory, international political economy, international environmental politics, international institutions and global governance. |
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John A. Hird
Interests: My research interests include policy expertise and advising, the use of information in policymaking, policy analysis, and environmental policy. |
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Judith Holmes
Interests: My courses in the Legal Studies major combine my research interests in law, politics and history with my previous experience as a criminal defense attorney. Legal Studies courses I have developed are Modern Political Trials, War Crimes Tribunals,... |
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Ray La Raja
Interests: My research interests include political parties, interest groups, elections, campaign finance, political participation, American state politics, public policy and political reform. I am also the co-editor of The Forum: A Journal of Applied... |
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Daniel LaChance
Interests: I am interested in the sources and implications of the "punitive turn" in the United States, the ratcheting up of incarceration and other forms of harsh punishment in the late 20th Century. My work has focused, in particular, on the... |
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Rahsaan Maxwell
Interests: My research interests include political attitudes, identity formation, representation and participation. I examine those issues through the politics of immigrant, ethnic, racial, and religious minorities, with a focus on Western Europe. |
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Lauren McCarthy
Interests: My research and teaching focus on laws and legal systems of countries around the world, especially Russia. My current research examines how law enforcement agencies (police and prosecutors) have implemented laws against human trafficking in... |
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Tatishe M. Nteta
Interests: My current research interests lie at the intersection of the politics of race and ethnicity, public opinion, and political behavior. More specifically, my work examines the impact of changing demographics and shifts in the sociopolitical... |
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MJ Peterson
Interests: My research interests include world politics, international institutions, international political economy, technology, and technological change. |
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Laura Reed
Interests: My research interests include U.S. national security policy; implications of globalization for peace and security; nuclear security, nonproliferation, and disarmament initiatives; emerging norms of humanitarian intervention and collective... |
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Jesse Rhodes
Interests: My major areas of scholarly interest are social policy (especially education policy), political parties, and the American presidency. My book, An Education in Politics: The Origins and Evolution of No Child Left Behind, has been published by... |
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Dean E. Robinson
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Frederic C. Schaffer
Interests: My area of specialization is comparative politics. Substantively, I study the meaning of democracy, the practice of voting, and the administration of elections. What sets much of my work apart from other empirical research on democracy is a... |
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Brian F. Schaffner
Interests: My research focuses on public opinion, campaigns and elections, political communication, political parties, and legislative politics. |
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Jillian Schwedler
Interests: My current research interests include political culture, protest and policing in Jordan, neoliberalism, identity politics, contentious politics, and state repression. |
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Stuart Shulman
Interests: My research interests include electronic rulemaking, human language technologies, manual annotation, digital citizenship, and service-learning efforts in the United States. |
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Nina Siulc
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Regine Spector
Interests: My research interests fall at the intersection of comparative politics, political economy, development, and Eurasian politics. |
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Leah Wing
Interests: Leah is on the faculty in Legal Studies at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst where she has taught Dispute Resolution since 1993. Her recent research and teaching applies Critical Race theory to mediation and issues of environmental justice.... |
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Nicholas Xenos
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Diana Yoon
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