Read More from “MERIP’s Unfinished Mission”

Abstract: In this issue, we reflect on MERIP’s (Middle East Research and Information Project) 50-year history of speaking truth to power and evaluate its continuing legacy. We are proud that a scrappy monthly newsletter written by and for activists not only endured, but evolved into Middle East Report, a unique source of news and analysis that features essays informed by rigorous scholarship and detailed field research while remaining committed to a progressive political mission. In its early decades, MERIP provided […]

Read More from “MERIP at 50 (Special Issue of Middle East Report)”

Abstract: This research note introduces new global data on military coups. Conventional aggregate data so far has conflated two distinct types of coups. Military interventions by leading officers are coups “from above,” characterized by political power struggles within authoritarian elite coalitions where officers move against civilian elites, executive incumbents, and their loyal security personnel. By contrast, power grabs by officers from the lower and middle ranks are coups “from below,” where military personnel outside of the political elite challenge sitting […]

Read More from “Coup Agency and Prospects for Democracy”

Abstract: Popular attitudes in support of authoritarian alternatives and weak party systems constitute important threats to democratic consolidation and the stability of new democracies. This article explores popular alienation from established political actors in Tunisia. Under what conditions do citizens support alternatives to the elites in power and the institutional infrastructure of a new democracy? Drawing on an original, nationally representative survey in Tunisia administered in 2017, this article examines three categories of popular attitudes in support of political outsiders. […]

Read More from “Popular Support for Military Intervention and Anti-Establishment Alternatives in Tunisia: Appraising Outsider Eclecticism”

Abstract: Privatizing the administration of American prisons represents a popular tool of correctional governance. In turn, policy and public administration researchers are routinely studying the consequences of prison privatization on criminal justice outcomes such as recidivism rates and prisoner complaints. However, much less attention has been paid to the antecedents of privatization decisions occurring across states, in particular how racial determinants might be influencing privatization outcomes. Building upon existing policy research with theories of social construction and negative racial classification, […]

Read More from “The Color of Corrections: Racial Politics and Prison Privatization”

Abstract: Since climate change presents an unprecedented threat to public health, creating environmentally sustainable communities has become an important policy goal. Many local governments have voluntarily implemented sustainability practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change at community levels. Because of the potential benefits, scholars and practitioners are paying increasing attention to the sustainability practices of local government. This study provides evidence for their health benefits after analyzing data of more than 3000 older adults between 2012 and 2016. Our […]

Read More from “Health benefits of local government sustainability efforts: A social cognitive perspective”

Abstract: This chapter argues the rise of airplane hijackings in the 1970s, followed by a series of more violent attacks against airplanes and air travelers in the 1980s, contributed to a late Cold War anxiety about the limits of American global power. The expansion of aeromobility managed by private commercial airlines with extensive US government support was central to the expansion of American global power in the post-World War II era. In the early 1970s, the adoption of hijacking as […]

Read More from “Aviation, Hijackings, and the Eclipse of the ‘American Century’ in the Middle East” Contribution to Edited Volume

Abstract: Background Although natural disasters can threaten health and well-being, some people show greater resilience to their effects than others. Identifying the characteristics related to resilience has important implications for reducing the health risks in the aftermath of a disaster. Objective Using the Conservation of Resources Theory as a framework, we study the role of resources in moderating the adverse effects of natural disasters on people’s health and coping behaviors. Method We match 20,658 unique individuals aged 50 or older […]

Read More from “Health risks of natural hazards and resilience resources: Evidence from a U.S. nationwide longitudinal study”

Abstract: Over the last several years, locating a large-scale food processing plant in a small rural community has attracted attention as a policy tool for local economic development. It is unclear, however, that public officials make decisions based on a comprehensive analysis that accounts for various costs and benefits across different policy issues and areas. Doing so is important because these decisions often involve the allocation of scarce public resources. This may be attributable to a lack of literature that […]

Read More from “Framework for a Cost-Benefit Analysis of a Large-Scale Food Processing Plant in a Small Rural Community”

Abstract: The present study examines whether people respond heterogeneously to statewide social distancing mandates as a function of factors that proxy for health risk, economic insecurity, and media consumption. Using longitudinal data of 7400 American adults between March 10 and June 23, 2020, the study examines social-distancing and mask-wearing behaviors. We use a staggered difference-in-difference model to explore whether state policies lead to preventive behaviors. We further examine heterogeneity in individual responses to state mandates by including interaction terms with […]

Read More from “Heterogeneity in Individuals’ Preventive Behaviors during COVID-19: Health Risk, Economic Insecurity, and Slanted Information”

Abstract: The fiscal effects of interlocal collaboration, a growing method of service delivery, remain inconclusive. We analysed the revenue and expenditure effects of collaboration arrangements as a whole and in six service areas for counties in the U.S. state of Nebraska over the period 2013–2018. Our analyses reveal that counties with a higher number of interlocal collaborations had lower total per capita revenues and expenditures, but higher property taxes. Lower per capita revenues and expenditures appear to be the result […]

Read More from “Fiscal Effects of Interlocal Collaboration: Evidence from Nebraska Counties”

Abstract: Background Many studies have found that state gun laws that regulate the purchase and possession of firearms can lead to a reduction in suicide rates. Yet, the literature has primarily focused on the effects of state gun laws on adult suicides, despite the fact that some gun laws are specifically tailored to restrict the purchase and possession of firearms by youths. Aims In this study, we estimate the effect of two such laws—Child Access Prevention (CAP) laws and minimum […]

Read More from “The Effect of State Gun Laws on Youth Suicide by Firearm: 1981-2017”

Abstract: This article introduces a theory on military role expansion in emerging democracies and poses a broad question: who wants the military to adopt which role in society and politics? Drawing on an original, nationally representative survey conducted in Tunisia, the article explores people’s preferences for the military to remain a security provider or serve in government and contribute to policing protests. Findings reveal that public support for military role expansion is substantial and varies across political cleavages. We test […]

Read More from “Role Model or Role Expansion? Popular Perception of the Military in Tunisia”

Abstract: In this paper, we consider the changing nature of today’s protest–election connection by looking back to the Blue Wave of the 2018 midterm elections that led to Republicans losing control of the House of Representatives. We ask whether White voters’ participation in the Blue Wave of the 2018 elections is related to the multi-racial participation in the #BlackLivesMatter protests of 2020. Could it be that White participation in both is symptomatic of a larger resurgence of racial liberalism that […]

Read More from “Racial Liberalism Resurgent: Connecting Multi-Racial Protests and Electoral Politics Today”

Political Science Undergraduate Graham Baker assesses democratic backsliding and alternative sources of information in India, Poland, and Brazil March 2, 2021 Click the link above to read the full article.

Read More from Political Science Undergraduate Graham Baker assesses democratic backsliding and alternative sources of information in India, Poland, and Brazil

Political Science Undergraduate Micah Presley explores personalization of power and democratic backsliding in Brazil February 18, 2021 Click the link above to read the full article.

Read More from Political Science Undergraduate Micah Presley explores personalization of power and democratic backsliding in Brazil

Abstract: The Middle East and North Africa has long attracted global visitors to its pilgrimage locations, sunny beaches, ancient ruins, and cultural heritage sites. More recently in the twenty-first century, Dubai has emerged as a mega tourism destination. Across the region, policy makers, private firms, and various societal actors have promoted tourism as a means to meet the challenges and opportunities of globalization and global integration. In the post–World War II period, as countries throughout the region gained national independence, […]

Read More from “Touring Exotic Lands”

Abstract: Over the last five years, many states have sought to limit access to Medicaid by adopting restrictive policies. How can we reconcile this development with studies that imply that Medicaid should be insulated from policy backlash? The answer lies in understanding the policy feedback effects that accompanied Medicaid expansion and how these effects created electoral pressure that led to policy modification. We situate our expectations within a policy diffusion framework that accounts for variation in both the content and […]

Read More from “The Affordable Care Act and the Diffusion of Policy Feedback: The Case of Medicaid Work Requirements”