POL Faculty Research

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10057/117

Collection of peer-reviewed research articles (co)authored by the Political Science Department faculty.

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 14

Explaining support for populism in contemporary Latin America
(Taylor and Francis, 2024) Azpuru, Dinorah
Explaining Support for Populism in Contemporary Latin America investigates the stronghold that populism exerts on citizens in the developing world. More specifically, relying on regional surveys, this book explores why many citizens consistently supported eight populist presidents who were elected in contemporary Latin America. It examines the determinants of support for the populist presidents who governed Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and Nicaragua between 1999 and 2019, and the variables that explain support for the most recent populist presidents in Mexico, Brazil and El Salvador between 2018 and 2023. Unique to this approach is a strong emphasis on the demand-side of populism and the use of country-specific survey data across the years. This book explores the determinants of support for populist presidents in four dimensions: demographic variables, ideological and policy-preference variables, performance variables, and variables related to representative democracy. Understanding what drives people to support populist leaders is critical for revitalizing representative democracy in Latin America. Furthermore, insights about the factors that lead citizens to support populism in Latin America can also inform the analysis of support for populism in other parts of the world. © 2025 Dinorah Azpuru.
All eyes on Kansas: Voter turnout and the 2022 abortion referendum
(SAGE Publications Inc., 2024) Amos, Brian; Middlewood, Alexandra T.
On August 2nd, 2022, Kansas held a vote to lift state constitutional protections for abortion access. The vote gained national attention, as it was the first statewide plebiscite on the subject since the U.S. Supreme Court had issued its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which had overturned the remaining U.S. Constitutional blocks on restricting abortion that had been in place since Roe v. Wade. The turnout for the election was unprecedented for a primary in the state, and to the surprise of many, the amendment failed by a large margin in deep red Kansas. In this paper, we use both precinct-level election results and individual-level voter registration and history data to explore who was mobilized to vote in the August 2022 primary and their behavior in the November 2022 general election. We find that the primary mobilized an electorate that had more women and young people, fewer Republicans, and more first-time voters than a normal primary, but that these demographics were also more likely to then abstain in the general election. Thus, the engagement of young people, especially young women, on the abortion issue remains, but preliminary findings suggest the future of this groups' electoral participation separate from abortion activism is unclear. ©The Author(s) 2024.
The impact of COVID-19 on democracy in the world
(Wichita State University, 2020-09-09) Azpuru, Dinorah
Beyond the effects on health, the COVID-19 pandemic has had huge effects on the economy, but also on politics in countries around the world. More specifically, in certain countries, it has impacted democracy in a negative way. This presentation will examine the overall impact of the pandemic on countries with democratic regimes, with emphasis on the democratic backsliding that has occurred in some of them. It will also look at the tightening of authoritarianism and human rights violations in countries that were already authoritarian when the pandemic began. Quantitative indicators that show the impact of the pandemic will be also discussed.
The massacre generation: Young people and attitudes about mass shooting prevention
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2022-05-12) Vegter, Abigail; Middlewood, Alexandra T.
Objective: We propose that citizens navigate an increasingly complex social and political world using a “cultural toolkit” shaped by firearms and gun violence. Young people in particular have experienced more mass shootings than any previous generation and have witnessed a lack of government response to these massacres. This article explores the attitudes that members of the Massacre Generation express about mass shooting prevention. Methods: We analyze data from several public opinion surveys conducted following major mass shootings in the United States using ordinary least squares and logistic regression. These surveys were fielded and sponsored by a variety of organizations and asked a nearly identical question about whether mass shootings can be prevented by societal and governmental action. Results: We find that the Massacre Generation is indeed more likely to think the government can prevent mass shootings by implementing stricter gun control laws. We find evidence of these attitudes in multiple public opinion surveys from 2012 to2018. Furthermore, we find no age effect in multiple surveys conducted between 1999 and 2011, suggesting that these attitudes are a relatively new phenomenon. Conclusion: Young people today express that government regulation (i.e., stricter gun laws) can prevent gun violence, placing them at odds with older generations. We discuss the implications of our findings for gun policy development and the future of the gun debate.
Staying home on the range: Social capital and social distancing in the Great Plains during COVID-19
(University of Nebraska Press, 2021) Middlewood, Alexandra T.; Joslyn, Mark R.
Since the spread of the COVID- 19 pandemic to the United States, citizens have been encouraged to practice social distancing, staying a minimum of six feet away from others. For many, social distancing has become a form of civic duty and expression of unity. In the classic Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam describes community- mindedness as an important pillar of social capital that promotes civic engagement. We hypothesize that citizens who exhibit higher levels of social capital are more likely to socially distance. To test the hypothesis, we utilize publicly available county- level data from Kansas (105 counties) and Nebraska (93 counties) and proxy social capital with county voter turnout from the 2016 presidential election. To gauge social distancing, we use social distancing grades as assigned by Unacast, a company specializing in mobility data. We discover social capital has a significant impact on distancing. In other words, counties with the highest levels of voter turnout produced the best social distancing grades. Furthermore, population is not a significant predictor of social distancing. A vast majority of the counties examined were in fact rural. Rural counties with high numbers of infections— largely those with oligopoly in the meatpacking industry— yield better social distancing grades than the most populated counties.

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