Democracy in the United States and across the globe has been in decline for years, as documented with rigorous tracking methodologies. Freedom House has tracked declines in civil liberties and political rights in the U.S., for example. And the...
“The line of students registering to vote on Election Day stretched across the University of Michigan campus, with students waiting for over four hours. There was a palpable sense of excitement and urgency around the election on campus. For many...
Though federalism is typically viewed in a domestic context, political scientist Jenna Bednar explores the balance of state and federal power and how it shapes U.S. foreign policy in Foreign Affairs. Bednar and co-author Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar,...
The Supreme Court of the United States has been under fire lately for many of its recent decisions, including the one that overturned Roe v. Wade. Jonathan Hanson, political scientist and lecturer in statistics, broke down what these decisions mean...
As Haiti continues to face challenges such as the effects of climate change and political turmoil, former Ambassador and Professor of Practice in International Diplomacy Susan D. Page calls for the U.S. to work alongside Haitians to create a more...
Abdul El-Sayed, Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence, has been sought out by the media to discuss a plethora of issues, from climate policy to the upcoming midterm elections. Additionally, El-Sayed regularly contributes to political discourse...
The undergraduate students in PubPol 480: Global Engagement Seminar had waited all semester for Spring Break – but they weren’t packing bathing suits and flip flops. Instead, they packed blazers and dress shoes. They were heading to Washington, D.C....
Turn Up Turnout is a student-led, nonpartisan organization that increases voter registration and turnout for college students. Created by Edie Goldenberg, professor emerita of public policy and political science, Turn Up Turnout works to educate...
A leader of the Oath Keepers militia group has been arrested in connection with the January 6 insurrection. Javed Ali, associate professor of practice, commented on the charges.
"The charges against Stewart Rhodes send a strong message about the...
Commemorating the one-year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, Detroit Public TV produced a special reflecting on the events of that day and their consequences, featuring an interview with Dean Michael Barr.
"It highlighted a significant...
As the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection approached, the investigations into the causes and participants, as well as any changes in security or policy, came into focus. Since the insurrection, over 700 people have been charged in connection...
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis faced criticism after the January 6 insurrection, with critics saying it could have helped to prevent. Javed Ali, professor of practice, commented on his former employer and...
On election security as a national security issue
Javed Ali and a bipartisan group of former national security officials recently co-signed a letter urging Congress to take more action against the security threat of election...
Voter turnout among University of Michigan college students jumped to 78% in the 2020 election, according to a report released by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University.
Up 18 percentage points from 60% in 2016, U-M...
The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is being sued for not meeting deadlines, even though the census data they need to redraw districts has been delayed.
"It would have been as a sort of Herculean task to do all the work...
By Rebecca Cohen (MPP '09)Americans’ trust in government institutions to “do the right thing” has steadily eroded since the late 1960s,1 correlated for many analysts with events such as the Vietnam War, Watergate, the ’70s oil embargo, and President...
"I hope that our students are going to be taking these messages [about voting] home and helping their families and their friends, whether they are students of ours or not, to take the steps that they need [to vote absentee]," said...
Christian Davenport holds faculty positions at the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research and at LSA Political Science. He is also the co-director of the Conflict & Peace, Research & Development, a scholarly community...
In many countries, longstanding government practices came to a halt amid COVID-19 restrictions. Ford School alum Meghan Rowley (BA '18), Latin America program associate at the International Republican Institute (IRI), has been helping to implement...
Ford School professor Megan Tompkins Stange is asking: What should the role be of philanthropy during the COVID-19 crisis? She studies the power and influence of philanthropy on public policy and politics.
In a recent Vox article, “These are the...
On October 28th, right-wing populism added another presidential office to its ranks with the victory of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Per protocol, President Trump called his new fellow head of state and offered his congratulations—the first step to...
In his Washington Post op-ed on October 5, 2018, the Ford School’s Brendan Nyhan states that Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court could seriously damage the Court’s legitimacy amongst the American people.Nyhan enumerates three...
Member institutions of the Big Ten Conference are partnering on a voting challenge to spur civic engagement and encourage more students across the nation to head to the polls on Election Day.The Big Ten Voting Challenge is a nonpartisan initiative...
Join us for an unforgettable evening with four trailblazing women in the arts, each bringing their own unique vision on how art can heal our society—on a national, community, and personal level. Part performance, part interactive workshop, and part discussion, this dynamic event explores the themes of care, resilience, and self expression in times of challenge.
Join the Spectrum Center for a lunch and learn with Naomi Goldberg (MPP '08), executive director of the Movement Advancement Project. Explore the political landscape and current state of LGBTQIA2S+ civil rights, understand the stakes for queer and trans people in the upcoming election, and learn about safety at the polls. Empower yourself with knowledge, connect with others, and enjoy lunch (on us!) as you look ahead to making your own informed decisions.
Join us for an inside look at how the FBI is tackling the evolving threats to U.S. elections, from cyberattacks to terrorism. Deputy Director Abbate will discuss the FBI's latest strategies and hard-earned lessons in defending democracy.
Join us for our Fall 2023 Democracy in Crisis event, a conversation with Jake Tapper, CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent, and Lynette Clemetson, Director of Wallace House Center for Journalists. Their wide-ranging discussion will cover the state of democracy and the role and responsibility of the press in a democratic society, as well as how Tapper’s experience of being an anchor and correspondent informs his craft of writing fiction.
Policy Talks @ the Ford School,
Conversations Across Differences
Join the Ford School for a Conversations Across Difference event with U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and former U.S. Representative Fred Upton (R-MI) for a conversation on the State of the Union and the Congress, civil discourse, and democratic resillience.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer will visit campus for a special event alongside CNN Anchor Chris Wallace as part of an ongoing partnership between the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Wallace House Center for Journalists, and U-M Democracy & Debate. The hour-long fireside chat between Governor Whitmer and Wallace will focus on politics, public service, and the media.
