John Sides

Chalkboard politics logo, a chalkboard with the podcast name and affiliations

📣📣📣Announcing...Chalkboard Politics @chalkboardpolitics.bsky.social, a podcast by students, for students (and their teachers). Written, edited, and mixed by the students at @siwpscolumbia.bsky.social and distributed by @goodauth.bsky.social. 1/ www.podbean.com/media/share/...

Trump plans to pull the U.S. out of dozens of organizations Trump plans to pull the U.S. out of dozens of organizations. Brian Greenhill discusses the impact of this move – and how Americans see international organizations.

Happy to listen and learn from Brian Greenhill on Trump's withdrawal from dozens of international organizations last week, @goodauth.bsky.social . Part of what Brian calls the liberal international order's "moment of crisis."
goodauthority.org/news/trump-p...

The admin is proposing indefinite control of Venezuelan oil, but evidence suggests that Venezuelan cooperation will only extend as far as it‘s coerced - and can’t extend past what the crumbing infrastructure can generate. Meanwhile ordinary Venezuelans continue to suffer.
@goodauth.bsky.social

The Vanderbilt Dept of Political Science is looking for two post-doctoral scholars in national security for 2026-27. Please apply or encourage others to apply!

apply.interfolio.com/179844

Trump made a clear choice: return to petro-imperialism Trump made a clear choice: return to petro-imperialism. To understand what just happened in Venezuela, look at oil politics and U.S. foreign policy.

I’ve learned much from @jeffcolgan.bsky.social over the years and his take on Trump’s Venezuela antics is well worth reading. goodauthority.org/news/trump-m...

Some thoughts on what Trump has done in Venezuela and what it might mean for US national security. Caveat: not a Latin America scholar so this is focused on US policy. Clearly huge consequences for Venezuela that others can address.

First, despite the buildup, I didn't think Trump would do it.

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Good Authority’s top 10 posts of 2025 Thermostatic politics, democracy under attack, Venezuela, South Africa, and more – the analysis Good Authority readers counted on in 2025.

"And with that, the 2025 season comes to an end..."

Here are Good Authority's top 10 articles of the year.

goodauthority.org/news/good-au...

A super thread 🧵

My latest for @goodauth.bsky.social goodauthority.org/news/what-we...

If you are a member of @apsa.bsky.social, please consider putting forward a nominee for the annual Carey McWilliams Award. This year, I am serving on the committee with Dr. @johnsides.bsky.social and Dr. Erika Franklin Fowler.

Past award winners include @jamellebouie.net (2025).

More info below.

This is a bad survey question that likely exaggerates any Holocaust skepticism.

www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

www.jstor.org/stable/26952...

I'm chairing the APSA Carey McWilliams Prize Committee. This prize goes to someone who has made "a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics."

More information is here: apsanet.org/programs/aps...

We would be grateful for people to submit nominations!

The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions is now acceptable applications for the 2026-27 year. Please share and encourage people to apply!

Post Doctoral application apply.interfolio.com/177609

Visiting Scholar application apply.interfolio.com/177613

us12.campaign-archive.com?u=6a195a173a... this by @johnsides.bsky.social at @goodauth.bsky.social seems exactly right to me.

Have our personal networks become more politically segregated? New research looks at the consequences for political participation and political tolerance.

Have our personal networks become more politically segregated?

New research looks at the consequences for political participation and political tolerance.

@johnsides.bsky.social breaks down the data here: goodauthority.org/news/have-ou...

Much more data from @tesler.bsky.social @goodauth.bsky.social. Tells us something about the backlash to DOGE and the OBBB, I think. And buttresses Democrats' stance on extending ACA subsidies.

t.co/bs3pJYTlpi

Under Biden, there was no thermostatic shift in public opinion about the size of government. The public stayed relatively liberal. Take attitudes toward the government's role in health care:

Autocracy or democracy? More and more people are ambivalent. When faced with the choice between a dictator and democracy, some people choose both.

A very large group is ambivalent about democracy vs. autocracy. More on this in a new piece from me @goodauth.bsky.social.

goodauthority.org/news/autocra...

Imagine asking people two questions -- whether each of these is a good or bad way to run a govt:

1) having a democratic political system

2) having a strong leader who does not have to bother with parliament and elections

What percent says *both* are good?

44%!

Finally, Scott Abramson and Sharece Thrower. "The direct cost to voters of polling site closures and consolidation." Very cool study from here in Nashville!

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Next, Cindy Kam and VU Ph.D. @amengel.bsky.social, "A racial reckoning? racial attitudes in the wake of the murder of George Floyd."

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Three new publications from Vanderbilt political science faculty! First up, Diana Lee and @yamilrvelez.bsky.social, "Measuring Descriptive Representation at Scale: Methods for Predicting the Race and Ethnicity of Public Officials."

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

thermostat go click-click-click

Just like in his 1st term, Trump is going to hover around 40% approval. As @johnsides.bsky.social et al point out in their 2020 election book, Trump always sides with his base rather than choose policies with broader appeal. When you only aim to satisfy 40% of the population, you get 40% approval.

Some more great new research from Vandy polisci faculty!

Peter Schram in International Organization, "Conflicts that Leave Something to Chance."

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

ICE’s popularity is plunging. ICE’s budget is skyrocketing, but more and more Americans view the agency unfavorably.

The popularity of ICE is plunging.

goodauthority.org/news/america...

I worked with E.J. for many years and highly recommend her for any academic looking to polish their writing and reach a larger audience!

Americans’ views of the opposite party have declined even further. New data shows another increase in “affective polarization.”

For more, see here: goodauthority.org/news/america...

People also appear to raise the out-party less favorably than "out-partisans" (i.e., Ds rate the "Republican Party" less favorably than "Republicans"). Suggests that "the party" calls to mind party leaders and activists not just ordinary folks, as some research has suggested.

Once you separate by mode, you get the expected finding: people express less favorable views of the out-party when they complete the survey themselves. Raises the possibility that the ANES was underestimating affective polarization because it used only face-to-face interviews for many years!