Nongovernmental Actors in Politics and Policy | Department of Political Science

Political processes around the globe are increasingly decentralized. Transnational networks (both criminal and civil), social movements, NGOs, private firms, individuals using social media, scientists and expert groups all engage the state and one another, constraining and enabling political behavior and at times substituting for the state as providers of governance.

Faculty in this cluster share an interest in the influence of these non-state actors on all levels of domestic and global policy processes: issue construction, policy framing and implementation, effectiveness, and legitimacy. Whether studying the impact of lobbying and political finance on policymakers, the input of experts on environmental and urban planning debates, or the role of advocacy networks in shaping or constraining global policy options, we take seriously the role of the "sovereignty-free" layer in local, national and global politics.

Sonia E. Alvarez

My main areas of specialization are social movements and protest politics, comparative and transnational feminisms, and Latin American politics and cultures, with a focus on Brazil and the Southern Cone. My recent (co-edited) books include Quem São as Mulheres das Políticas para as Mulheres no Brazil? Vol. I, O...Read more

Charli Carpenter

My teaching and research interests include the politics of war law, transnational advocacy networks, protection of civilians, humanitarian disarmament, and the role of popular culture in global human security policy. I have a particular interest in the gap between intentions and outcomes among advocates of human security. I work with...Read more

Paul M. Collins, Jr.

His research focuses on understanding bias and inequality in the American legal system, particularly in the behavior of actors like judges, legislators, presidents, the media, and interest groups.

I have published articles in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Journal of Law and Courts, Journal of Politics, Law...Read more

Barbara Cruikshank

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.Read more

Peter M. Haas

My research interests include international relations, international relations theory, international political economy, international environmental politics, international institutions, the science-policy interface, and global governance.

I am currently developing a research project on global issue coupling and global governance. I am currently a member of the editorial boards of Global Environmental Politics,...Read more

Ray La Raja

Ray La Raja's areas of expertise include political parties, interest groups, campaign finance, elections, political participation, American state and local politics, public policy and political reform. He is co-author with Brian Schaffner and Jesse Rhodes of Hometown Inequality: Race, Class, and Representation in American Local Politics (Cambridge University Press 2020). He...Read more

Jesse Rhodes

I am a Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

My research revolves around struggles over race, representation, and civil and voting rights, and their consequences for politics and policymaking in the United States. I have written extensively on inequality in representation, voting rights politics,...Read more

Jamie Rowen

Dr. Rowen's research focuses on the use of law to redress mass atrocity and aid vulnerable groups. She is the founding director of UMass' Center for Justice, Law, and Societies, www.umasscjls.org and a research affiliate with the UMass Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts. Dr. Rowen's current projects examine the citizen-state relations...Read more

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