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Nongovernmental Actors in Politics and Policy

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.

 

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.

My research focuses on understanding bias and inequality in the legal system, the selection and work of judges, social movement litigation, and how people understand the law. 

I have published articles in the American Political Science Review, Journal of Law and Courts, Journal of Politics, Law & Social Inquiry,...Read more

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

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 relationships between immigration...Read more