Written by a current MPSA member requesting anonymity

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the MPSA (Midwest Political Science Association). Any content provided is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as official statements or endorsements by MPSA.

Our most recent 2025 MPSA conference continued the tradition of gathering our diverse and expansive community, bringing together our sub-disciplines for dynamic topical engagement, sharing innovative methodological advances and furthering deep theoretical debates, and fostering productive engagement among students, early career, and seasoned scholars alike. As I always do, I enjoyed reconnecting with old friends and colleagues in the Palmer Lounge. I appreciated the motivation to advance ongoing work and the thoughtful critique and suggestions I received by my fellow panelists and discussants. I relished the luxury of a few days of learning from those with deep expertise in topics I don’t often have the time to engage with. And of course, I indulged in Chicago’s culinary treasures among good company.

However, I would be remiss to reflect on this year’s conference without noting the historically tense moment our disciplines, our academic and research institutions, and our country are currently facing. As political scientists, policy scholars, public administration researchers and practitioners, we are well equipped to observe, characterize and assess the administrative, institutional, legal, political, rhetorical, economic and normative changes the Trump Administration have been enacting over their first couple months resuming office. In fact, many of the panels at the conference demonstrate the depth of expertise our community holds on the exact topics that have all but dominated media channels since the administration took office: ‘strength of democracy’, ‘separation of powers’, ‘independence of courts’, ‘bipartisanship and polarization’, ‘censorship and free speech’ – to name a few. Yet, despite their relevance to helping us understand current events, the pursuit of these very lines of scholarship is being threatened by funding cuts and uncertainties[1]. These alongside the unprecedented closures, reorganizations, and downsizings of federal agencies and particularly those with large research branches[2],[3], and intimidation threats and actual harassments of international colleagues and students at our universities[4] should give our community reason enough to pay attention to the moment at hand. Indeed, I write this as both a member of MPSA and a former federal social scientist, one of more than 120,000 federal employees terminated or forced into buyouts by the Trump Administration. In my former federal agency, the cuts and rapid priority shifts have put an indefinite pause on my team’s research program focused on effective collaborative governance arrangements for conflicts over public natural resource management.

The conference’s Friday afternoon “Emergency Town Hall on the State of American Democracy and the Political Science Discipline” demonstrated the saliency of these concerns among our community- with a ballroom packed to standing-room-only to hear a diverse panel of speakers share their informed reflections and comparative data on the current state of politics and strength of democracy in this country. A few points from panelists (in no particular order) particularly resonated with me– and seemingly others in the room based on the audience responses and subsequent Q&A, which I summarize here:

  • Over the past 10 years, 34 leaders of democratic countries around the world have been indicted and convicted of crimes; Trump has been the only one not to face legal or financial consequences.
  • From a comparative context, we should be aware of many indicators that have signified a decline in democracy and increase in autocratic regimes in other countries around the world: attack on private and public media sources, academic institutions, and courts; increasing polarization and less within-party pushback against party leaders; threatening free speech through jailing of peaceful protesters; threats of political violence against political opponents; overturning or arguing of votes as illegitimate; shifting and degrading of norms of respect for institutions and legitimate political disagreement and policy debate.
  • Extreme build up and reliance on federal funding across sectors and institutions of all sizes (academic, private industry, non-profits, and local/ state government alike) means there is high vulnerability to fluctuations in federal investment and changing political priorities resulting in funding cuts.
  • The courts have been extremely “squishy” about providing strict interpretation of presidential powers over executive branch agencies, as well as federal versus state powers. These judicial uncertainties are being tested by the current administration.

Last week, during my post-conference recovery, I found myself reflecting deeply on many of these key points the panelists raised and how I have been and will choose to continue to engage as a policy researcher and practitioner, a public servant, a colleague, a mentor, and a community resident on the political challenges in front of us. I do not claim these engagement ideas as my own originals– many of these are heavily inspired by or directly borrowed from others. However, these are points that continue to help me stabilize as I digest the insights I took away from MPSA, the demands I heard from fellow protesters at the ‘Hands Off’ national protests both the weekend of the conference (April 5th) and today, my own experiences as a fired federal scientist, and the impacts I am observing daily on my community and field of work.

  • Our community of scholars, practitioners, students, and engaged citizens are concerned. We (the membership of MPSA) can and should share our knowledge and evidence-informed perspectives on the ever evolving political dynamics, electoral considerations, tri-branch separation of powers, democratic vs. autocratic regimes, public opinion, public policy debates, and track records of effective approaches to public policy. Many others with less critically-informed and evidence-based perspectives are not hesitating to broadcast their perspectives widely. If we value evidence-based knowledge, we must continue to ensure our perspectives and research maintain critical space in public dialogues.
  • The political moment and challenges we are currently facing are products of a long history of marginalization, exclusion, and systematic oppression of certain groups within our society. We must acknowledge the divisive rhetoric and xenophobic policies, particularly aimed toward immigrants, are not new, even if they have gained more prominence and mainstream acceptability as of late. Thus, our solutions cannot look to ‘go back’ to what once was, but most embrace true transformation of the power dynamics that have led us to the place we currently find ourselves.
  • It can be challenging to stay motivated, amidst a constantly depressing news stream and evolving uncertainty within our own organizations. Engaging collectively can help. Getting to know your neighbors and community, getting involved on local and regional-scale issues, empowering yourself and your peers in your own community to work to build the world you want to see can help maintain motivation and energy.
  • We need to foster and support respectful community spaces, now more than ever. In a time when we engage so often virtually rather than face-to-face, when politics of isolation and divisive rhetoric shine bright, gathering in community with care and kindness can serve as a powerful antidote.

I hope to see MPSA work to bring its members together to care for each other, our scholarship, and our freedom of expression. I hope to see MPSA facilitate and support its members to act collectively to maintain strength, leadership, and stay engaged in the rapidly evolving challenges our democracy is facing. I hope when we gather in 2026, we can continue what started as an “Emergency Townhall” as a sustained dialogue on the opportunity and leadership our community can collectively take in the months and years to come.

 

[1] PBS News. “How U.S. colleges are navigating cuts to grants for research after Trump restricts federal funding”. March 28, 2025. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/how-u-s-colleges-are-navigating-cuts-to-grants-for-research-after-trump-restricts-federal-funding

[2] New York Times. “The Federal Work Force Cuts So Far, Agency by Agency”. Updated April 14, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/28/us/politics/trump-doge-federal-job-cuts.html

[3] The Impact Map. Updated March 31, 2025. https://theimpactproject.org/the-impact-map/

[4] NAFSA: Association of International Educators. International Students and Scholars at Risk: What to Know Right Now. Updated April 14, 2025. https://www.nafsa.org/ie-magazine/students-at-risk