MPSA Blog

When Grievances Do Not Mean Violence

By Bethany Lacina The vast majority of political violence is within rather than between states. How do national politics—that is, the central government's attempts to stay in office—make civil violence more or less likely? Social science has ignored that question in favor of debate, catalyzed by…


Social Esteem and Participation in Contentious Politics

By Gwyneth McClendon Why do individuals participate in non-voting forms of collective political action? The last few years have been rife with examples of rallies, protests and demonstrations: from student protests in Hong Kong, to the “Black Lives Matter” demonstrations in the United States, to…


Dollars on the Sidewalk: Should U.S. Presidential Candidates Advertise in Uncontested States?

Carly Urban, Montana State University Sarah Niebler, Dickinson College Why do individuals contribute to political campaigns? There are many reasons people may give—ranging from the warm glow they feel after contributing to a cause they care about to perceived access to political candidates.…


AJPS Author Jakana Thomas on The Monkey Cage

Jakana Thomas, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University, posted an article on The Monkey Cage, titled "Actually, sometimes terrorism does work." Read Professor Thomas' article at:…