Politics

Join us for a keynote address by Dr. Yusef Salaam, a member of the Exonerated Five (previously the Central Park Five).

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson will deliver opening remarks for a panel discussion on "Communities of Interest" and the important role they will play in Michigan's new redistricting process beginning in 2020.

We invite you to a student session with Congressman Ted Deutch and his Chief of Staff Josh Rogin.

A Ford School and WCEE student event with Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia Professional Development Fellow Professor Peter Terem for a discussion on the political stability and international reputation of Slovakia. 

We present and explain the vertical organization of corruption in a traffic police agency.

An informal roundtable conversation with Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz (Ford MPP '96)  who will share his experience from Ford School student to current Mayor of the City of Toledo.

Local government fiscal health is typically assessed using objective financial indicators, but little is understood about how local officials subjectively understand their own fiscal health. We compare self-assessment data from the Michigan Public Policy Survey with financial data on Michigan local governments to explore the extent to which self-assessments align with conventional financial indicators. Qualitative results reveal that local officials emphasize long-term spending pressures (e.g. roads, infrastructure) and external factors, such as uncertainty around property values and state aid (i.e. revenue sharing) payments, when assessing their fiscal health. Quantitative results provide some corroborating evidence, but in general, conventional indicators are not powerful predictors of self-assessments, especially for high-stress governments. We believe that part of the disparity is that financial indicators do a poor job of capturing what local officials say they are most worried about. We suggest that self-assessments may be a useful supplement to conventional measures in capturing “true” fiscal health.

On February 23, the Ford School will host graduate students from 14 univerisities to participate in the 2019 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition. This year’s competition—a partnership between the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA)—will connect a record 585 students from 11 global host sites including Dhaka, Cairo, Mexico City, and San Francisco to tackle policy issues associated with forced migration through computer-based simulated game play. 

Join us for a conversation and book talk with Harold Koh on his new book: The Trump Administration and International Law.

 The objective of the North American Colloquium is to provide a forum that strengtens a wider North American Conversation and more fruitful trilateral cooperation between Canada, Mexico and the US. Colloquium will allow for distinct internal/regional and indigenous perspectives within each country to be showcased.

* Stream! * A symposium to increase awareness of and dissect problems with the existing presidential selection system.

Ford School Election Watch Party on November 6 at Frasier’s Pub.

María Elena Salinas with journalists Ginger Thompson and Aaron Nelsen, and policy expert Ann Lin

The panel will look at two initiatives on the November 2018 ballot: the Voters Not Politicians initiative to reform redistricting (Proposal 2), and the Promote the Vote initiative to expand voting and registration opportunities (Proposal 3).

WCEE Lecture. Poland, the EU, and Illiberal DemocracyKrzysztof Śmiszek, Polish human rights lawyer, activist, and managing editor of The Anti-Discrimination Law Review

Aram Simonyan will deliver a lecture on the topic, "Accepting corruption:What role do Machiavellianism and rationalization play?"

Please join us for this fantastic opportunity in simulation exercise.

Since the November 2016 elections, issues surrounding the nuts-and-bolts of election administration have risen to the forefront of discussion and debate, both here in Michigan and across the nation. This CLOSUP event begins with Debra Horner presenting new survey data collected by the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) exploring views of Michigan's local government leaders on: confidence in the accuracy of Michigan elections; problems experienced in election administration; plans to update voting equipment; and support and opposition to a host of potential election reforms. Then Christopher Thomas will explore a range of related issues, placing Michigan’s experiences in broader national context, while discussing the past, present and future of election issues.  Thomas will address topics such as voter registration policy and the effects of President Trump's voter fraud commission as well as recent Supreme Court decisions regarding the Voting Rights Act, control of ballots, voting equipment failure, and allegations of Russian interference, ending with thoughts on challenges and reforms going forward.

  

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post offers suggestions for both reporters and news consumers on navigating this new era. He will discuss how journalists can open up their own reporting process through social media, show the public the work that underlies their stories and invite readers in as co-collaborators.

With Republicans controlling Congress and the White House following the 2016 elections, Democrats have turned to the states to spur challenges to President Trump’s agenda. Among the most prominent of Trump’s state-level adversaries have been state attorneys general, who in just the first few months of 2017 have challenged federal policy from immigration to the environment. While intergovernmental conflict has continued to deepen, AGs have also found areas of bipartisan cooperation as well. This talk will discuss the role of state AGs during the early months of the Trump Administration. In addition to providing an overview of the various tools AGs have used to gain national prominence, Dr. Nolette will highlight several of the emerging trends in AG activity.

The process of technological displacement of workers began in the automobile industry in the 1960's, and with the rise of connectivity and AI it is accelerating rapidly.