Politics

News about UB’s political science programs, and related insight into politics. (see all topics)

  • Study Demonstrates How We Support Our False Beliefs
    8/21/09
    In a study published in the most recent issue of the journal Sociological Inquiry, sociologists from four major research institutions focus on one of the most curious aspects of the 2004 presidential election: the strength and resilience of the belief among many Americans that Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
  • Expert on Health Care Reform Decries 'Deliberate Deception,' Predicts 'Frankenreform'
    8/11/09
    Debra Street, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo, says the history of health care reform in the U.S. is "one of lost battles" for principled approaches to creating a health care system that delivers good health care to all.
  • Do Elections Sway Political Opinion?
    5/21/09
    A new book on the role American elections play in shaping how its citizens arrive at political opinions -- written by nationally known University at Buffalo Law School election expert James A. Gardner -- looks at the expectations shared by many Americans that political campaigns should shape what people think about the major political issues in the election.
  • New Hampshire Is the State with Most Individual Freedom; New York Offers the Least
    3/6/09
    Political scientists from the University at Buffalo and Texas State University have presented the first-ever comprehensive ranking of American states with regard to public policies affecting individual freedoms in the economic, social and personal spheres.
  • A Surprising View of Cuban Neighborhood Life Described in Book
    2/25/09
    A new book based on 15 years of on-the-ground research in Cuba describes two Cubas -- one for Cubans, one for outsiders -- that co-exist but do not mix, and explains how the Cuban culture we do not see was critical in sustaining the Castro regime while other socialist countries collapsed.
  • Dear Michelle Obama....
    12/18/08
    The voices of women whose stories are rarely told have been gathered by two scholars at the University at Buffalo to offer Michelle Obama messages of love, hope, admiration and support as she becomes the United States' first African American First Lady.
  • Overseas Popularity Gives Obama a Leg Up In Foreign Affairs
    11/13/08
    Barack Obama's extraordinarily strong approval ratings abroad bode very well for the effectiveness of his foreign policy, says a University at Buffalo political scientist with expertise in international conflict and intergovernmental organizations.
  • Perception of Obama as Young Father Will Influence U.S. Image Here And Abroad
    11/12/08
    The presence of children in the White House will undoubtedly have an impact on the image of the U.S. currently held by its own citizens and by those in countries around the world, says Sampson Lee Blair, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo.
  • Regional Institute Releases Brief Exploring U.S.-Canada Trade, Receives National Grant to Research Border Performance
    10/30/08
    Canada is by far the United States' most important trading partner, with exports to our northern neighbor totaling more than those to Mexico, Japan and China combined. Yet federal policies to reinforce security without slowing trade have had mixed results, with some border regions easing bottlenecks more than others. These and other findings on the U.S.-Canada trade relationship are published in "Border Brief," a joint effort of the Regional Institute and the Border Policy Research Institute of Western Washington University.
  • An Obama Victory Would Mean Significant Changes for Cuba and Latinos Living in the U.S., Says UB Caribbean Studies Chairman
    10/21/08
    Electing Barack Obama president could significantly change the balance of power in Cuba and among Latinos in the U.S. because Cuba would be forced to deal with the first American administration in decades poised to strengthen ties with the country's military government, according to the director of the University at Buffalo's Caribbean Studies Program.