Political Programming: 2020 View Other Sessions

The Interdisciplinary Workshop on American Politics (IWAP) is a forum for the presentation of ongoing interdisciplinary research in American politics. Most of our presentations are given by graduate students. Each graduate student presenter is assigned a faculty and student discussant. IWAP circulates the work beforehand and the student presents it briefly at the start of the meeting. After discussant feedback, the bulk of the time is reserved for group discussion among all workshop participants. This format leads to informal yet highly interactive and productive conversations.

RSVP is NOT required.

This event will feature a conversation between noted Russian journalist and scholar Yevgenia Albats and Ambassador Susan Elliott, a recently retired U.S. diplomat, on the role of media and information in the evolving relationship between Russia and the United States. Ambassador Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international policy and practice at the Ford School, will moderate.

Speaker information can be found here. 

RSVP is NOT required for this event. 

The Interdisciplinary Workshop on American Politics (IWAP) is a forum for the presentation of ongoing interdisciplinary research in American politics. Most of our presentations are given by graduate students. Each graduate student presenter is assigned a faculty and student discussant. IWAP circulates the work beforehand and the student presents it briefly at the start of the meeting. After discussant feedback, the bulk of the time is reserved for group discussion among all workshop participants. This format leads to informal yet highly interactive and productive conversations.

RSVP is NOT required for this event. 

Free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided beginning at 11:30 am: Please RSVP. Dessert reception to follow.

This event will be livestreamed. Please check fordschool.umich.edu just before the event for viewing details.

Join us for an arm-chair conversation between Ambassador Susan Rice and Michael Barr, Dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, as they discuss Ambassador Rice's distinguished career and her book, Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For. Recalling pivotal moments from her dynamic career on the front lines of American diplomacy and foreign policy—as National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations—Ambassador Rice's memoir delivers an inspiring account of a life in service to family and country.

Please join P3E as we host the Ginsberg Center Research Assistant, Kari Rae, MPP '20, for a session to train students, staff & faculty to be able to assist in the voter registration process.

RSVP is required for this event.  

Brown bag lunch - we'll supply drinks and dessert.  You'll learn about voter registration processes, recent changes in Michigan voter laws, and upcoming opportunities to get involved in turnout efforts. 

The trilateral relationship among China, Japan and the United States has generally been stable, and it explained the regional order in East Asia since the 1970s. Now, however, the fundamental conditions of the trilateral relationship are changing because of a shift in the balance of power, a loss of confidence on American diplomacy, US-China competition and the overwhelming importance of the Chinese economy. How will a change in the relationship between Japan, the United States and China affect the order of Asia? What does improving Japan-China relations mean? Is the Japan-U.S. relationship still strong?

Ryo Sahashi is an Associate Professor of International Relations, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo. Dr. Sahashi specializes on international politics in East Asia. He serves as Research Fellow, Japan Center for International Exchange, and has been Visiting Associate Professor, Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center, Stanford University. He received his BA from International Christian University and his PhD from the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics at the University of Tokyo. He also studied at the Department of Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to attend this event, please reach out to us at least 2 weeks in advance of this event. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.

RSVP is NOT required for this event. 

The Interdisciplinary Workshop on American Politics (IWAP) is a forum for the presentation of ongoing interdisciplinary research in American politics. Most of our presentations are given by graduate students. Each graduate student presenter is assigned a faculty and student discussant. IWAP circulates the work beforehand and the student presents it briefly at the start of the meeting. After discussant feedback, the bulk of the time is reserved for group discussion among all workshop participants. This format leads to informal yet highly interactive and productive conversations.

RSVP is NOT required for this event. 

States in Asia and the Pacific have been talking about “hedging” and “not choosing sides” between the United States and China since the 1990s. Their aim was to moderate potential tensions between Washington and Beijing and promote cooperation, but this has not appeared to work. Instead, these disparate efforts to find a middle way between the two major powers resulted in greater levels of uncertain that have exacerbated security dilemma dynamics between the United States and China and created greater incentives for rivalry rather than cooperation.

Chong Ja Ian is an Associate Professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. He received his PhD from Princeton University in 2008 and previously taught at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His research covers the intersection of international and domestic politics, with a focus on the externalities of major power competition, nationalism, regional order and security, contentious politics, and state formation. He works on US-China relations, security and order in Northeast and Southeast Asia, cross-strait relations, and Taiwan politics. Chong is author of "External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation: China, Indonesia, Thailand, 1893-1952" (Cambridge, 2012), a recipient of the 2013 International Security Studies Section Book Award from the International Studies Association. His publications appear in the China Quarterly, European Journal of International Relations, International Security, Security Studies, and other journals. At the Harvard-Yenching Institute, Chong will examine how non-leading state behavior collectively intensifies major power rivalries, paying particular attention to the US-China relationship. He has concurrent projects investigating how states react to sanctions on third parties by trade partners and the characteristics of foreign influence operations.

If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation to attend this event, please reach out to us at least 2 weeks in advance of this event. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.

In 2018, journalist Davey Alba traveled to the Philippines to investigate Facebook’s breakneck proliferation in that country and President Rodrigo Duterte’s rise to power. She revealed how the politician’s incendiary style aligned perfectly with the tech company’s algorithms that reward entertaining, inflammatory content. From maligning opponents to espousing hardline policies to combat the drug trade, Duterte’s operatives created memes, propaganda and egregious libel that flourished on Facebook. Join Alba and Ceren Budak, associate professor, University of Michigan, for an examination of how demagogic political campaigns worldwide have weaponized the social media platform.

Information about the speakers can be found here. 

RSVP is NOT required for this event. 

The Democrats have begun winnowing their original field of 20+ candidates down to the one who will eventually be their nominee for the 2020 presidential election.

Jeffrey Bernstein will evaluate the candidates and assess their standings as we enter the 2020 election cycle. He’ll review the evolution of the nomination process and examine the transfer of power from the parties to the voters over the last half century. As he discusses our evolving system, he’ll focus on one big question: has the shift to a voter-centric process been a good thing for American politics? This lecture will coincide with the general time-frame of the New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucuses.

Jeffrey Bernstein is an award-winning Professor of Political Science at Eastern Michigan University. His areas of interest are U.S. political parties, campaigns, and elections, voting behavior and public opinion, as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Please note the new start time for this event.

RSVP is NOT required to attend this event; $5 entry fee.

RSVP is required through the "REGISTER" button below. Space is limited, and lunch will be served. 

Learn about the University's policies when it comes to campus events, particularly around controversial and/or political speakers or issues. 

The Interdisciplinary Workshop on American Politics (IWAP) is a forum for the presentation of ongoing interdisciplinary research in American politics. Most of our presentations are given by graduate students. Each graduate student presenter is assigned a faculty and student discussant. IWAP circulates the work beforehand and the student presents it briefly at the start of the meeting. After discussant feedback, the bulk of the time is reserved for group discussion among all workshop participants. This format leads to informal yet highly interactive and productive conversations.

RSVP is NOT required for this event.