Mischiefs of Faction

Experience with discrimination explains gender attitudes; one’s gender doesn’t.

A lot of moments in political and social events seem momentous and unique at the time but fade into history as nothing special, with little impact on later events.

The top three takeaways of the Brexit vote from an American living in the UK.

Parliament must still pass a bill in order to trigger Article 50 and begin the process of exiting the European Union. If you are an MP, it is less clear than one might expect what advice this advisory referendum gives you.

Support for Brexit does not seem to ebb and flow with opinions on terrorism or immigration. More important is the critical mass of voters who feel powerless, looking for a mechanism to voice their displeasure to both the major parties.

The divisions among national Republicans could prevent Trump from getting equal treatment from the mainstream news media.

How the presidential election looms over the swing justice’s decision-making process.

Gun laws are unlikely to change right now, but Democrats have shown they’re willing to touch the third rail.

In spite of strong support to save lives and limit criminals’ access to guns, the House GOP is too busy to even text back “LOL.”

California’s top-two system has a voter turnout problem.

David Frum writes that the “guardrails” of democracy have fallen. But glorifying the recent past has its dangers.

Are supporting and endorsing really the same thing?

Some evidence suggests that parties beset by a conflicted convention may underperform in the general election.

Despite record campaign receipts, fundraising reveals surprisingly little about 2016.

Too many high-quality candidates just made it easier for Donald Trump to rise.

Trump’s victory wasn’t a win for conservative ideology.

Once the primaries got underway, Republican elites made several attempts to coordinate. But they didn’t have much bargaining power.

Unlike the Democratic side, the Republican coalition includes too many ideological groups that care little about their party’s success.

There is nothing unique about Trump himself. He has been around since the 1980s, he lost his bid for the Reform Party in 2000, he has a vast number of disastrous flaws, and certainly he’s not the first demagogue in our political system.

In a series of posts, we attempt to understand why the Republican Party couldn’t stop Donald Trump.

Trump’s ambitious declaration fits right into what we know about how politicians claim mandates. That’s terrifying.

Voting is not about “thinking for yourself” at all. It is about working in concert with your fellow voters.

Donald Trump has by far the most votes in the GOP primary, but that’s a very small number of votes.

The Republican Party completely failed to do its job.

Could better institutions have prevented Donald Trump’s nomination?

Running mates are typically chosen for very immediate, and very political, reasons.

A new media business model based on provoking anger has grown over the past 30 years. It exacerbates the political system’s polarization and dysfunction.

Self-identified Democrats seem to be following the cue given by Democratic party leaders in backing Hillary Clinton.

Parties play a crucial role. But our vision of them relies on norms and values we’ve left in the past.

Where was the proverbial smoke-filled room where delegate selection took place? Inside an actual cigar factory.

Trump wasn’t paying attention to the rules, and the Colorado GOP was watching.

On the substance of important policy issues, Trump seems like he is making it up as he goes along. But at managing and targeting Republican Party factions, he is executing a precise plan.

The party’s halting and controversial embrace of his candidacy tells us something about the ubiquity of parties and about the limits of their capacity to shape events.