PoliticalScience

Social Sciences Forum Mark Graber, Jacob A. France Professor of Constitutionalism, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law  Tuesday, September 15 | 4:30 p.m. Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery  Mark Graber examines the problems of how and why the U.S. has often enacted restrictive policies during wartime, and how military conflicts and tensions influence civil liberties and civil rights in the United States. Graber argues that the same factors explain why some rights are restricted, why some rights are expanded, and why some rights are protected during particular wars. These factors also continue to influence contemporary responses to… Continue Reading Social Sciences Forum: Constitution and Citizenship Day Lecture: Counter-Stories: Protecting Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in Wartime (9/15)

Sunil Dasgupta, director of UMBC’s political science program at the Universities of Shady Grove, recently published an article in International Relations and Security Network (ISN) News on the establishment of world powers through norms and institutions instead of superior capabilities over others. Using the example of Britain, Dasgupta noted that despite its decline, its membership in international institutions ensures the country staying power on the world stage: “Britain remains a veto-carrying, permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, one of a handful of nuclear weapons states, a rich country, and one of the closest allies of the United States. Despite Prime Minister Cameron’s… Continue Reading Sunil Dasgupta, Political Science, Writes ISN Article on What Makes a Modern World Power

Thomas Schaller, professor and chair of political science, along with colleagues at UCLA and Stanford, recently published a column in the Huffington Post that examined the legacy of President Obama’s Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive action that took affect three years ago. DACA directed the government to temporarily defer action on young immigrants in the United States who came to the country at an early age as undocumented immigrants with their parents. Schaller, who is political director of the polling and research firm Latino Decisions, wrote about the political significance of the action on immigration policy. “While DACA’s primary, real-world… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, Analyzes Immigration Policy in the Huffington Post, Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun

Following the recent arrests of FIFA officials, Sunil Dasgupta, director of UMBC’s political science program at the Universities of Shady Grove, wrote an article for International Relations and Security Network (ISN) News about the arrests illustrating a key feature of American soft power. “Rather than blaming the media or the public for paying more attention to a sporting controversy than to developments in the South China Sea, this unlikely legal move by the U.S. Department of Justice should be taken as evidence of the symbolic nature of power in contemporary international politics. On the symbolic terrain of soft power, the governance… Continue Reading Sunil Dasgupta, Political Science, Writes about World Politics in ISN Following FIFA Arrests

Laura Hussey, an associate professor of political science, recently discussed on WYPR the police accountability bills that died in committees on the last day of the 2015 Maryland General Assembly session. In the story, Hussey said it was a lack of unity that may have led to the bills’ failure. “Activists need to have some sort of consensus around what’s going to be a viable policy solution to this issue and I don’t think that consensus is there yet,” she said. Hussey also discussed the belief among some that police accountability is mainly a Baltimore City problem. “Those in outlying… Continue Reading Laura Hussey, Political Science, on WYPR