The Prelim Brief

This final episode dives into the deep-seated psychological factors that structure political life before a voter even reaches the ballot box.

This episode will investigate the core of democratic health: does the government actually do what the people want, and does it listen to everyone equally? Key topics include: The Representative's Dilemma: A look at the classic Miller & Stokes (1963) study on whether legislators act as "delegates" or "trustees," and how this varies by issue area—showing that representati...

This episode will explore the mechanics of how information travels from the media and elites to the average citizen. It covers a wide range of research, including: The Power of Media: We'll look at the classic "minimal effects" and "two-step flow" models from Lazarsfeld et al. (1944), and compare them with modern findings on how newspaper endorsements can boost low-salience...

This episode explores why people often prioritize the "we" over the "I" in politics. It dives into the following key research: Racial Resentment vs. Self-Interest: Discussing Kinder & Sanders (1996) and their finding that symbolic predispositions—rather than personal material stakes—drive White opposition to race-targeted policies. The Black Utility Heuristic: Examining Daw...

This episode will focus on why people choose to engage in politics, moving from the theoretical "paradox of voting" to the practical resources and networks that make participation possible. Key points include: Rational Choice and Subsidies: Exploring Aldrich (1993) and the idea that political parties and candidates "subsidize" the costs of participation to overcome the rational...

This episode will focus on the psychological and rational foundations of voting behavior, specifically exploring: The Origins of Partisanship: A comparison between the "Michigan School" view of party ID as a stable, inherited social identity (Campbell et al. 1960) and the "running tally" model, where partisanship is an instrumental result of retrospective performance evaluation...

Explores whether citizens hold stable ideologies or just "non-attitudes," and how they use shortcuts to navigate politics. Key Readings: Converse (1964) Zaller (1992) Page & Shapiro (1992) Lupia (1994) Kinder & Kalmoe (2017)

Focuses on the unique dynamics of city and local governance. It will explore: Policy Diffusion: How policies like smoking bans spread through learning, competition, imitation, and coercion (Shipan & Volden 2008). The Power of Homeowners: How property ownership motivates intense local participation in council meetings and elections (Yoder 2020). Interest Groups vs. Partisanship: The debate betw...

Explore how judges and justices make decisions, looking at the tension between ideological voting (the attitudinal model) and strategic behavior that accounts for other branches of government. Key Readings: Cameron & Kastellec (2023) Martin & Quinn (2002) Glynn & Sen (2017) Bonica & Sen (2020)

Examine the strategic expansion of presidential power and the complex internal world of the bureaucracy. Key Readings: Lowande (2024) Moe (1998) Moe & Howell (1999) Kinane (2021) Potter (2019) Mummolo (2018) Eckhouse (2022) Bolton et al. (2021 Bellodi et al. (2026) Ba et al. (2022)

Explores whether committee membership or leadership positions actually drive local spending, how the President strategically uses federal funds to reward co-partisans and loyal voters, and how things like disaster aid can actually shift voter turnout. Also covers the methodological tension between measuring "funding" versus "spending. Key Readings: Chen (2013) Berry & Fowler (20...

Analyzes how external actors like ALEC or individual donors gain access to and subsidize the legislative process with information or resources. Key Readings: Hertel-Fernandez (2014) Kalla & Broockman (2016) Hall & Deardorff (2006) Crosson, Furnas, & Lorenz (2020) Shepherd & You (2020) Li (2018)

Explores how individual and party goals, like reelection or partisan advantage, interact with institutional rules to shape legislative outcomes. Key Readings: Diermeier & Krehbiel (2003) Mayhew (1974), Volden & Wiseman (2014) Lee (2016) Krehbiel (1998) Park (2021) Fong (2023) Kirkland & Phillips (2018) Ban et al. (2022)