Michael T. Heaney

Materials for my Introduction to Network Analysis in R workshop are accessible using the following link:

1drv.ms/f/c/1836dd8b...

Very nicely done. Many good points. Do you think that today's #50501protest will lead to momentum for opposition to Trump?

Why It’s So Hard to Protest Trump 2.0 Demonstrations have gotten smaller and more dispersed in Trump’s second term. Is that a bad thing?

I was very happy to be quoted today in The Atlantic in this excellent article by @galbeckerman.bsky.social: "Why It’s So Hard to Protest Trump 2.0." #50501Protest #protest
www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Poster for the 2025 Political Networks and Computational Social Science Conference.

Workshop information for the PolNet-PaCSS conference. The workshops will be August 11 and August 12, 2025. There are four sessions: Introduction to Network Analysis in R taught by Michael Heaney; Network Visualization with R taught by Katya Ognyanova; Introduction to Latent Variable Models for Networks taught by Shahryar Minhas; and Introduction to Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) taught by Cassie McMillan. More information: https://sites.google.com/view/confpolinetworks/political-networks-conference/2025-polnet-workshops

Reminder! CFP and workshop registration for the Political Networks and Computational Social Science Conference.

We have a great lineup of network analysis workshop instructors: @michaeltheaney.bsky.social, @ognyanova.bsky.social, Shahryar Minhas, & Cassie McMillan.

sites.google.com/view/confpol...

🎶 I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream
I dreamed 🎶

Yes, refusing to follow federal court orders is a huge step toward the end of constitutional government.

A Project 2025 tracker by agency shows 100/300 objectives achieved & 46 more in progress:
www.project2025.observer

That makes the Contract with America seem trivial in comparison.

Nicely done, Jack!

Reforming Big-City Elections There are pressures to find an acceptable set of electoral system reforms for big cities. These include poor accountability due to lack of party competition,[1] demand for change manifest in the diffu...

Please have a look at this paper if you are interested in proportional representation. manhattan.institute/article/refo...

Takeaway #3: If the anti-nuclear movement has an ally between the two major parties, it is the Democrats, though they are an unreliable ally. It is wise for advocates to keep constant pressure on the Democrats to keep them attentive to an anti-nuclear posture.

Takeaway #2: The evidence at hand suggests that Republicans are not likely to change in desired ways as a result of anti-nuclear protests. Yet it is not wise for advocates to completely neglect targeting their advocacy toward the Republicans.

Takeaway #1: The anti-nuclear movement was mobilizing to a greater extent when the nuclear discourse was focused on arms control than after it shifted to proliferation.

I am very happy that the journal American Behavioral Scientist has accepted my article for publication, which is titled "Nuclear Weapons, Protest, and American Political Parties,1944-2020." Key takeaways in comments. #nuclearweapons #protest #parties
michaeltheaney.com/wp-content/u...

Sarah Lockwood & @evlieb.bsky.social consider whether financial incentives increase participation in surveys. They find that, if anything, material incentives depress response rates, but there is some heterogeneity in estimated effects by political party.

Read more here: doi.org/10.1177/2053...

Stand Up for Science rally drew a more anxious throng than 2017 counterpart Surveys find attendees of Washington, D.C., protest are discouraged and angry after the Trump administration’s firings and spending cuts

Science Magazine reported on the results of my surveys at Friday's Stand up for Science rally in Washington, DC.

#StandUpForScience #StandUpforScience2025 #marchforscience

www.science.org/content/arti...

Demand the Immediate Release of Palestinian Student Activist Mahmoud Khalil from DHS detention On the evening of March 8, 2025, Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil was detained by the Department of Homeland Security. The arrest comes on the heels of the Department of State’s ann...

Demand the Immediate Release of Palestinian Student Activist Mahmoud Khalil from DHS detention
actionnetwork.org/letters/dema...

How do we keep Standing Up for Science? A heartfelt thank you for everyone that Stood Up for Science with us on March 7th—whether it be volunteering, donating, sharing, or attending in event, we're forever indebted to people like you who ca...

Our work is far from done—science is still under attack.

We’ve got ideas, but we want to hear from you. What’s worrying you most? What should we do next? How can we grow this movement together?

Fill out this quick form to share your thoughts & stay connected: forms.gle/7EEQMZUveXN9...

50501 — 50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement Join the movement to uphold the Constitution and end executive overreach. 50 protests, 50 states, 1 day: #50501.

They've been happening pretty steadily around the country for the past several weeks. For example:
www.fiftyfifty.one

Columbia University investigates students critical of Israel amid Trump’s threats Investigation is part of a flurry of recent cases brought by new disciplinary committee against students who have expressed criticism of Israel

In Alwan’s case, investigators said the unsigned op-ed in the Columbia Spectator, which also urged the school to curtail academic ties to Israel, may have subjected other students to “unwelcome conduct” based on their religion, national origin or military service. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

BREAKING: DHS Detains Lead Negotiator of Columbia Gaza Solidarity Encampment After Online Campaign by Pro-Israel Groups Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained on Saturday, is being held at an ICE detention facility.

Deeply disturbing www.dropsitenews.com/p/dhs-detain...

I now have emotional comparisons for anger, anxiety, & enthusiasm between #StandUpForScience2025 & the #MarchforScience (2017), based on surveys of participants at Washington, DC events. Anger and anxiety have increased, while enthusiasm has declined. #StandUpForScience

Thousands gather across U.S. and world in Stand Up for Science events Scientists and their supporters rallied across the country in response to layoffs and funding cuts ordered by the Trump administration

"Thousands gather across U.S. and world in Stand Up for Science events"
#StandUpForScience #StandUpForScience2025
www.science.org/content/arti...

For me, I was more enthusiastic about politics when I was younger. But now that I study politics for my career, I am more frustrated by the structural problems that prevent us from working together for the common good. Still, I aim to move things a bit in the right direction if I can.

Good point. However, prior research does show that enthusiasm is a push factor that encourages political participation. So, it hurts to see a decline in enthusiasm among your activists. At the same time, as you imply, enthusiasm is only one of many factors to influence engagement.

Surveys by my research teams at yesterday's #StandUpForScience rally and the 2017 #MarchforScience (both in Washington, DC) show that rally participants in 2025 reported significantly higher anxiety about politics and significantly lower enthusiasm about politics than they did in 2017.

It is unconscionable to cut funding in the middle of a fellowship year. This will cause hardship to all of these people and their families. It is hurting people just for the sake of hurting them. And it won't save money once the class action lawsuit is settled.

Done.

These photos are from today's Stand Up for Science rally today at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Photos are courtesy of Amy Kasper, who took them while she was conducting surveys for my research. #StandUpforScience2025 #StandUpForScience

The science of contemporary street protest: New efforts in the United States We review how the science of studying street protest has changed, identifying opportunities for innovation and collaboration.

With Stand Up for Science taking place across the USA today, it is a great day to re-read the article that my collaborators and I wrote on "The science of contemporary street protest: New efforts in the United States."
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#StandUpForScience #StandUpForScience2025