Politics - Columbia University Press Blog

November 5, 2008

Gerald Curtis on What an Obama Presidency Means for Japan

“There are several reasons why Japan should look forward to an Obama presidency. First of all, Obama is the first person to become President for whom Asia is not a far away region with which he has little personal experience...

November 4, 2008

How New York City Votes

With record turnout predicted in New York City for today’s election, we thought we’d look back at how New York City residents have voted in past elections via The Almanac of New York City. In the 43 elections from 1836-1904,...

October 7, 2008

CUP Authors Weigh in on the Economy and Sarah Palin

Like much of the country, Columbia University Press authors are thinking about and writing about the downturn in the U.S. economy and the presidential election. In his article Reversal of Fortune, appearing in the November issue of Vanity Fair, Joseph...

October 3, 2008

Good Format, Bad Format: A Post by Alan Schroeder, author of Presidential Debates

The following is a post by Alan Schroeder, author of Presidential Debates: Fifty-Years of High Risk TV. You can also read Alan Schroeder’s other posts on the 2008 debates. What a difference a format makes. In the first Obama-McCain debate...

September 26, 2008

Alan Schroeder on Politico.

In a widely discussed article on Politico, Alan Schroeder, author of Presidential Debates: Fifty Years of High-Risk TV, assess the stylistic strengths and weaknesses of each candidate when it comes to debating. Even with the status of tonight’s debate in...

September 25, 2008

John McCain's Risky Maneuver: A Post from Alan Schroeder

The following is a post by Alan Schroeder, author of Presidential Debates: Fifty Years of High-Risk TV: The gambit by John McCain to postpone Friday night’s opening debate at Ole Miss entails considerable risk to the candidate. History shows that...

September 22, 2008

How East Asians View Democracy

East Asian democracies are in trouble, their legitimacy threatened by poor policy performance and undermined by nostalgia for the progrowth, soft-authoritarian regimes of the past. Yet citizens throughout the region value freedom, reject authoritarian alternatives, and believe in democracy. How...

August 20, 2008

Saddleback a Comfy Fit for McCain – an op-ed by Alan Schroeder

In an op-ed piece for the Boston Globe yesterday, Presidential Debates author Alan Schroeder explains how the appearance of both candidates over the weekend at Rick Warren’s Saddleback church sheds light on what to expect for the upcoming presidential debates...

August 5, 2008

Vice Presidential Candidates and the Debates: A Post by Alan Schroeder

The following post is by Alan Schroeder, author of Presidential Debates: Fifty Years of High-Risk TV In selecting their running mates, Barack Obama and John McCain will choose not just a prospective vice president, but also a vice presidential debater. ...

July 22, 2008

More on The Measure of America: A Quiz and Article from the Social Science Research Council

As The Measure of America: American Human Development Report, 2008-2009 continues to garner attention for its truly eye-opening findings about the United States, the Social Science Research Council has decided to put you to the test. The quiz they have...

July 18, 2008

The Highest and Lowest-Ranking Districts in the U.S.: More from The Measure of America

In separate articles, New York’s Daily News and the Huffington Post look at findings from The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008-2009 that determine the best and worst Congressional Districts in the United States in terms of such...

July 15, 2008

The New Yorker Cover Controversy and the History of Editorial Cartoons

While the New Yorker Obama cover has been dominating the news cycle for the past 24 hours, disputes and controversies regarding editorial cartoons are hardly new. Here are a couple of books that offer some historical perspective: In her forthcoming...