Category: Political Science

Huntington’s ‘Three Waves of Democracy’ since the 19th Century

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Scholars debate the precise number of democratic waves and their causes. Curated/Reviewed by Matthew A. McIntoshPublic HistorianBrewminate Introduction In political science, the waves of democracy are major surges of democracy which have occurred in history. Although the term appears at least as early as 1887,[1] it was popularized by Samuel P. Huntington, a political scientist at Harvard University in his article published in the Journal[…]

How To Keep Political Campaigns Exciting for Modern Voters

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In the beginning and right before election day, political campaigns are exciting. However, in “the middle,” things can lull. During these times, campaign teams must work hard to keep voters engaged about their political platforms and candidates they represent. Growing and maintaining this enthusiasm can help you achieve long-term and far-reaching success, regardless of the[…]

James Madison and Political Parties

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Exploring Madison’s greatest fear about the future of the Republic he did so much to shape: the problem of factions. As the convention at Philadelphia wrapped up on September 17, 1787 there was no fist-pumping. Benjamin Franklin was supposedly asked what sort of government the delegates had invented, a monarchy or a republic. The 81-year-old[…]

The Damned Neighbors Problem: Rousseau’s Civil Religion Revisited

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We can find important elements of Rousseau’s approach still alive and well in American politics and culture today. Abstract Near the conclusion of The Social Contract, Jean-Jacques Rousseau starkly proclaims that no state has been founded without a religious basis, and thus if he is right, every political community must grapple with the tension between[…]

Contested Presidential Elections since Samuel Tilden in 1876

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The elections of 1876, 1888, 1960 and 2000 were among the most contentious in American history. Introduction As states continue to count their ballots in the 2020 election, it seems possible that Democrats and Republicans will end up in court over whether President Trump will win a second term in the White House. President Trump[…]

Measuring Public Opinion from the 17th to 19th Centuries

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The prerequisites for the emergence of a public sphere were increasing levels of literacy which was spurred on by the Reformation. Introduction The term public opinion was derived from the French opinion publique which was first used in 1588 by Michel de Montaigne in the second edition of his Essays (ch. XXII).[1] The French term[…]

A Brief History of Voting since the Early Republic

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African Americans, women, Native Americans, and citizens between the ages of 18 and 21 had to fight for the right to vote in this country. The Founders and the Vote In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.” But how[…]

Voting and Civic Participation in Ancient Athens

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The Acropolis of Athens. Dominating the acropolis is the Parthenon, built between 447 and 432 BCE in the Age of Pericles, and dedicated to the city’s patron deity Athena. / Photo by Mark Cartwright, Creative Commons Ancient Athenians actively served in the institutions that governed them, and so they directly controlled all parts of the political process. By Mark Cartwright / 04.03.2018 Historian[…]

Adolf Hitler and ‘Nationalism’

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Adolf Hitler and his entourage take a stroll in Paris on June 23, 1940 / German Federal Archives, Wikimedia Commons Examining Adolf Hitler’s conceptualization of Nationalism – the Nation and who, in Hitler’s thinking, comprises it. By John Cai Benjamin Weaver / 05.16.2011 Doctoral Candidate, Department of Political and Economic Studies University of Helsinki Adolf[…]

Ostracism as a Political Process in Ancient Greece

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Pottery ostraka identifying Themistocles, 482 BCE. These were used in Athens to vote a particular citizen to be ostracised from the polis. From a well on the north slope of the acropolis of Athens. (Museum of the Ancient Agora, Athens) / Photo by Mark Cartwright, Creative Commons Ostracism was the supreme example of the power of the ordinary people, the demos, to combat abuses of[…]

Henry David Thoreau: Founding Father of American Libertarian Thought

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This  great writer, great naturalist, and great advocate of self-reliant individualism was also one of the founding fathers of American libertarian thought. By Jeff Riggenbach / 07.15.2010 Henry David Thoreau was born David Henry Thoreau on July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts, a small country town about 20 miles northwest of Boston. Nancy Rosenblum of the[…]

Oligarchy, Tyranny, and Democracy in Ancient Greece

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Ostraka for Ostracism / Museum of the Ancient Agora, Wikimedia Commons Although the Greek city-states differed in size and natural resources, they came to share certain fundamental political institutions and social traditions. By Dr. Thomas R. Martin Jeremiah W. O’Connor, Jr. Professor of  Classics College of the Holy Cross Introduction Although the Greek city-states differed in[…]

Common Sense: From Monarchy to an American Republic

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Radical pamphleteer Thomas Paine advocated a republic: a state without a king. By Dr. P. Scott Corbett, et.al. Professor of History Ventura College Introduction While monarchies dominated eighteenth-century Europe, American revolutionaries were determined to find an alternative to this method of government. Radical pamphleteer Thomas Paine, whose enormously popular essay Common Sense was first published[…]

Political Culture and Socialization in America

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1952 Democratic Convention / Wikimedia Commons People gain an understanding and acceptance of the political culture of their nation through a process called political socialization. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 09.25.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction Americans have strong positive feelings about the country’s flag. Government leaders and candidates giving speeches often are flanked by[…]

Political Parties in the Information Age

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Political parties thrive when they are able to manage the media and effectively promote their candidates, leaders, and causes. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 09.22.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction Political parties thrive when they are able to manage the media and effectively promote their candidates, leaders, and causes. Their goal is to use the[…]

Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau on Government

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The Storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789, by Jean-Pierre Houël / Bibliothèque nationale de France, Wikimedia Commons Starting in the 1600s, European philosophers began debating the question of who should govern a nation. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 09.07.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Starting in the 1600s, European philosophers began debating the question of[…]

And the Lot Fell On…Sortition in Ancient Greek Theory and Practice

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Pnyx hill in Athens by Qwqchris. / Wikimedia Commons In the matter of the dēmokratia (‘People-Power’) that the Greeks invented (the word as well as the thing) ancient Greece was a desperately foreign country – they did democracy very differently. By Dr. Paul Cartledge / 03.31.2016 A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture Emeritus University of Cambridge Some four decades[…]

Contentious Politics: Hobbes, Machiavelli, and Corporate Power

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Did the Roman arenas of political conflict support the common good? Trey Ratcliff/flickr, Creative Commons History offers countless examples of social change that is now consolidated and popularly supported, but which was only achieved through protests that were judged at the time to be extreme. By Dr. Sandra Leonie Field / 11.19.2015 Assistant Professor of Humanities (Philosophy) Yale-NUS College[…]

The Power of Ordinary People Facing Totalitarianism

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A 1969 photo of political theorist and scholar Hannah Arendt. AP Photo Hannah Arendt, a political theorist, fled Germany during Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and later wrote about ‘the banality of evil.’ Her work has recently become a best-seller. Here’s why. By Dr. Kathleen B. Jones / 03.14.2017 Professor Emerita of Women’s Studies San Diego State University In the weeks since[…]

The Political Science of Campaigns, Elections, and Participation

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The 33rd President of the United States of America, statesman Harry S Truman (1884 – 1972), waving from a train. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 03.17.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – Elections 1.1 – Types of Elections From the broad and general to the small and local, elections are[…]

The Legal System in the United States

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Gordon County Courthouse in Calhoun, GA / Photo by Brent Moore, Creative Commons Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 03.12.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief The requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt has this vital role in our criminal procedure for cogent reasons. The accused, during a criminal prosecution, has at stake interests of immense importance,[…]

A History of Interest Groups and Political Parties in American Politics

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President Lyndon Johnson signs a gun-control law in 1968—passed with the N.R.A / Public Domain Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 03.09.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – Introduction 1.1 – Constitutional Right to Petition the Government The Supreme Court has ruled that petitioning the government by way of lobbying is protected by the Constitution as[…]

Defining, Forming, and Measuring Public Opinion

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Photo by Stephen Melkisthenian, Flickr, Creative Commons Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 03.06.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – Defining Public Opinion 1.1 – Introduction Voter Poll: Voter polling questionnaire on display at the Smithsonian Institution Public opinion or Political opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public[…]

Civil Liberties and Civil Rights in Political Science

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Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 02.25.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – Civil Liberties and the Bill of Rights 1.1 – The Bill of Rights 1.1.1 – Overview The Bill of Rights of the United States of American: The United States Bill of Rights, which are the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, and[…]

A History of Federalism in the United States

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Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – Federalism in the Constitution 1.1 – Introduction Federalism is the system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units. It is based upon democratic rules and institutions in which the power to govern is shared between[…]