After the death of leaders who become nearly synonymous with the countries they lead, what happens to the politics?
Joshua Tucker
Joshua Tucker is a professor of politics at New York University with an affiliate appointment in the Department of Russian and Slavic Studies and New York University-Abu Dhabi. His major field is comparative politics with an emphasis on mass politics, including elections and voting, the development of partisan attachment, public-opinion formation, and political protest.
Posted inArticle
Kim Jong Il and Vaclav Havel: How Much do Individuals Matter in Politics?
As the world digests the deaths of Vaclav Havel and Kim Jong-Il, an interesting and unresolved questions is raised for observers of politics: how much influence does any one person ever really have over the evolution of politics in a country, a region, or even the whole global political systems? From our earliest days in […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Obama Wins…If Election Was Today
Two academics try their hand at predicting the election results if November 2012 happened today, instead of trying to predict the future.
Posted inArticle
Guide to Today’s Russia Coverage at the Monkey Cage
For those interested in a quick primer on recent developments in Russia, here’s a guide to our posts today: Andrew Little on applications to Russia of theories of non-competitive elections Sam Greene on how Putinism has come to violate Russia’s non-interference social contract Regina Smyth on the dangers of over-simplifying Russian politics Konstantin Sonin on […]
Posted inArticle
Noncompetitve Elections and Information: A Theoretical Perspective on the 2011 Russian Elections
Finally (at least for today), we present the following response to the Russian parliamentary elections from Andrew Little, a Ph.D. candidate at NYU who is writing a dissertation on noncompetitive elections. In response to my queries, Andrew offered the following six points in response to the 2011 Russian elections: 1. Noncompetitive elections—those where the ultimate […]
Posted inArticle
A Resonant Signal: The Russian Parliamentary Elections of December 2011
Our next report on the 2011 Russian parliamentary elections comes from Konstantin Sonin of the New Economic School in Moscow, Russia. These comments originally appeared at Free Policy Briefs. ******* Days before December 4, prospects of electoral democracy in Russia looked bleak. Consolidation of the authoritarian rule of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s paramount leader since 1999, […]
Posted inArticle
The Beginning of the End of the Putin Regime as We have Known It
When I am not writing for The Monkey Cage, I have been known to spend some time studying post-communist politics. I have also written about protest following electoral fraud. Thus recent events in Russia are of great interest to me both personally and professionally. As many of you by now know, last weekend’s Russian parliamentary […]
Posted inArticle
Keep the Facts Straight: Congressional Portfolios do *not* Outperform the Market
Insider trading in Congress is back in the news, this time because Congress is trying to set up more stringent regulations against it. The reason: Almost all of the 173 House members cosponsoring the legislation signed on following a 60 Minutes broadcast last month reporting that congressional lawmakers can enrich themselves through investments without fear […]
Posted inArticle
Congress in Action
For your weekend viewing pleasure, from official Monkey Cage cartoonist Ted McCagg:
Posted inArticle
More on Mandatory Voting, Which Does *Not* Necessarily Make Electorate Less Informed
In response to the lively debate between the New York Times and The Monkey Cage (1, 2, 3), we are pleased to welcome Victoria Shineman, a Ph.D. candidate in NYU’s Politics Department who is writing a dissertation on the effects of compulsory voting. In this guest post, she offers both a clarification of how participation […]