Maxwell School News and Commentary

"What's happening, at least in my research, is that young people have been organizing for a great deal of time. And what they've been saying is that, you know, enough is enough," says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.

The degree to which religion is decoupled from prosocial goals and spirituality in contemporary young adults is one of many research questions to be addressed in the project “Spirituality and Prosocial Values in the Absence of Religion Among Millennials and Their Families.” This study will be led by Merril Silverstein, the Marjorie Cantor Endowed Professor of Aging Studies in the Falk College and the Maxwell School.

"This is bigger than a partisan fight," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science. "This is really about the nature of what is the presidency and what can it be used for."

“The Chinese meanwhile are incredibly pragmatic, and they’ll certainly consider the possibility that the impeachment inquiry is having an effect. They’ll see the president as weakened. That will matter," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely.

Osama Khalil, associate professor of history, discusses the current state of U.S.-Iran relations, arguing that the U.S.'s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal has made it more difficult to achieve a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

"We can see that service jobs are put at risk when President Trump launches a trade war," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. "Many service jobs depend on trade, not just because we export services directly but also because services go into export production."

Saba Siddiki, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, has been awarded two grants for projects beginning this fall. One will support the work of the Institutional Grammar Research Initiative and the other is for project work on urban food action plans to advance human well-being and health, environment, and equity goals.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, says the whistle-blower revelations aren’t really telling people anything they didn’t already know about President Trump. "How many times,” Reeher says, "can you regenerate the outrage?"

"One of the risks for Democrats in 2020— specially at the presidential level—is that the impeachment process will suck up all the oxygen that otherwise might have been available to make the affirmative case for election," says Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher.

"If the allegations are true, the abuse of power is significant, and many members of Congress will be motivated to conduct impeachment proceedings," says William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs.