Conference
A conversation with a sociologist fellow who attended MPSA
By Juan Corredor-Garcia, PhD student in political science at the Graduate Center, City University of New York As one of the most prestigious regional conferences in the discipline, MPSA not only attracts political scientists but also social scientists from around the world. We interviewed…
How to Conference for the First Time: Strategy, Reflection, and Recharging at MPSA 2025
by Muhammad Hassan Bin Afzal, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Service, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga When I first visited Chicago in 2017 to volunteer for a conference and workshop, I fell in love with the city. Then, MPSA entered my life. One of my…
More COPS, Higher Turnout?
By: Brandon J. Romero, University of Michigan The following blog post summarizes the research that was a co-winner of the Midwest Political Science Association’s Best Paper in Political Behavior Award for research presented at the 2024 MPSA Annual Conference. In my paper "More COPS, Higher…
The Subnational Roots of Democratic Stability
By: Julian Michel, Ph.D. in Political Science from UCLA, Postdoctoral Fellow at LMU Munich The following blog post summarizes the research that won the Midwest Political Science Association’s Kellogg/Notre Dame Award for the best comparative politics paper presented at the 2024 MPSA Annual…
My Experience Balancing Life, Research, and Conferences
by Bakhytzhan Oskeyeva, PhD student in Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Charlotte As I prepare for the upcoming MPSA Annual Conference, I find myself juggling multiple roles—researcher, attendee, and, most importantly, a single mother of two wonderful children: my 13-year-old daughter…
Adam Smith on the Effectual Truth of Imagination
By: Trevor Shelley, Arizona State University The following blog post is a summary of the research that won the Midwest Political Science Association’s Review of Politics Award for research presented at the 2024 MPSA Annual Conference. In this article (recently published in Perspectives on…
Building Skills for the Future
by Muhammad Hassan Bin Afzal, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Service, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Muhammad Hassan Bin Afzal recommends taking advantage of training sessions, workshops, and short courses during your career's early stages or…
Serendipity in Academia: How the MPSA Conference Unlocked Doors I Didn't Know Existed
by Meherun Nesa, PhD student in Political Science, Loyola University Chicago As a doctoral student in Political Science at Loyola University Chicago, my research focuses on the complex linkages between international organizations and security challenges, with a concentration on peacekeeping…
Update: Restrictive New Voting Laws in the States
by Michael A. Smith, Professor of Political Science, Emporia State University In 2022, my colleagues and I published our book Much Sound a Fury or the New Jim Crow? The Twenty First Century’s Restrictive New Voting Laws in the States, with SUNY Press. The project began when we met and formed a…
Fascinating Findings: Health & Politics at MPSA 2024
By James Steur, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Political science is a discipline that…