Scott Gehlbach
@sgehlbach.bsky.social
University of Chicago, Political Science and Harris School. Director, PhD Program in Political Economy. Autocracy/Eurasia/HPE. Blogging at scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev. Cards fan but o/w Chicago patriot. 🇺🇦
Our article with @grigopop.bsky.social and @jacobtucker.bsky.social is now out in @bjpols.bsky.social! This has been a very long journey from the initial draft to publication, so we are very excited 😀 I'll summarize our findings in the next few of posts in the thread.
British Journal of Political Science@bjpols.bsky.social · 2w agoNEW - The Threshold Effect: Preference Falsification Versus Weak Preferences in Russian War Support - https://cup.org/4hGfoyp - @isadesisto.bsky.social, @grigopop.bsky.social & Jacob R. Tucker #OpenAccess
School Math Olympiad in #Kyiv these days, held in a bomb shelter. Russia keeps attacking Ukrainian cities, so these kids solve geometry problems between pipes and ventilation ducts. Every solved problem is a small act of defiance. 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine
How do you really help Putin without saying you are really helping Putin?
A highlight of #APSA2026: two panels honoring Henry Brady as scholar, mentor, and friend. Here, my remarks—what I have learned from Henry over the years:
Not Actually Roasting Henry Brady
My comments for "Remembrances, Rants, and Roasts," a panel honoring Henry Brady.
scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev
It’s been great to get back to the theory of autocracy after a little break. Here is a new paper with @luozhaotian.bsky.social and @spantoja.bsky.social. It’s a fun setting: a dynamic agency model in which the agent can try to become the principal (e.g., via a coup). papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
It’s been great to get back to the theory of autocracy after a little break. Here is a new paper with @luozhaotian.bsky.social and @spantoja.bsky.social. It’s a fun setting: a dynamic agency model in which the agent can try to become the principal (e.g., via a coup). papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
A highlight of #APSA2026: two panels honoring Henry Brady as scholar, mentor, and friend. Here, my remarks—what I have learned from Henry over the years:
Not Actually Roasting Henry Brady
My comments for "Remembrances, Rants, and Roasts," a panel honoring Henry Brady.
scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev
David L. Weimer Receives the 2026 John Gaus Award The John Gaus Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor a lifetime of exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of… http://politicalsciencenow.com/david-l-weimer-receives-the-2026-john-gaus-award/
David L. Weimer Receives the 2026 John Gaus Award
The John Gaus Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor a lifetime of exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration. David L. Weimer will deliver the Gaus Lecture on Friday, September 4, 2026 at 6:30pm ET as part of the APSA Annual Meeting. Citation from the Award Committee:
politicalsciencenow.com
If you work on Russia, read this. Google Threat Intelligence describes "suspected Russian" espionage groups using new mixes of technical and (sometimes quite sophisticated) social engineering to target academics, analysts and researchers covering Russia. [1/3] cloud.google.com/blog/topics/...
Distinct Clusters Target Individuals of Interest to Russia | Google Cloud Blog
Distinct Russian clusters have been conducting phishing activity focused on Application Specific Passwords (ASP), OAuth flows, and malware delivery. All of these operations seem focused on account com...
cloud.google.com
JD Vance was right when he said that Watergate would be a 12-hour story today, but not for the reason he thinks, write @bobbygulotty.bsky.social and Zhaotian Luo. bit.ly/3RZY6DP
The Trolling of American Democracy
Robert Gulotty & Zhaotian Luo explain how illiberal politicians weaponize irony, forcing critics to choose between silence and ridicule.
bit.ly
A summary of what I understand and do not understand about the way democracy works: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7269378
<p>Swan Song: My Understanding of Democracy</p>
I summarize my understanding of democracy: the theory which predicts when elections peacefully manage conflicts and the empirical evidence regarding the co
papers.ssrn.com
Our paper on the electoral benefits of Trump's ag payments is out now at the Journal of Public Economics. authors.elsevier.com/c/1nWEVAlwA2... tl;dr - We use the natural experiment from 2019's massive increase in spending to compare 2020 Trump vote in over-compensated vs. under-compensated counties.
Congrats to amazing recipients of 2026 SIOE prizes for best book, best thesis, best paper www.sioe.org/news/2026-si...
The 2026 SIOE Awards – SIOE
Angela Zhang wins the Douglass North Best Book Award, Matteo Tranchero the Ronald H. Coase Dissertation Award, and Ngoma, Sievert, Jaravel, Nunn and Weigel the Oliver E.…
sioe.org
Organ intro at Music Box in Chicago as we prepare to watch The Odyssey on 70mm with 700 other aficionados.
Bravo! Excellent conference and great gala to close it out. Here, @ksonin.bsky.social staging Napoleon’s surrender to Kutuzov (in fact, Napoleon surrendered to Wellington, which Kostya knows full well).
Sascha O. Becker@essobecker.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe 2026 edition of the @sioecon.bsky.social conference at INSEAD Fontainebleau organized by the amazing (dancing) Maria Guadalupe was extraordinary. Thanks, Maria and team ❤️ Presidential address by my wonderful co-author @paulinegrosjean.bsky.social on masculinity norms and patriarchy 🚀
Your regular reminder that market economies are archipelagos of central planning.
Juraj Medzihorsky@medzihorsky.bsky.social · 3mo agoSome comparisons between today's tech sector and industrial SEOs in command economies under state socialism practically offer themselves: • bureaucratic targets with questionable economic value [see here] • soft budget constraint [see Kornai] • legitimization by value for the power of the state
Fantastic conference on “The Soviet Legacy” at UCLouvain next January. Cfp here: www.uclouvain.be/en/research-...
“From a political perspective…we should have serious concerns about a sweeping elimination of moral-hazard rents from large political and economic organizations.”
Roger Myerson@rbmyerson.bsky.social · 3mo agoA new note considers challenges of AI from a perspective of political-economic theory. home.uchicago.edu/~rmyerson/hu... A key concern: With substitution of artificial intelligence for human intelligence in management, our world may be dominated by larger organizations managed by fewer people.
Folks, here’s the program for the 2026 Summer Workshop in the Economic History and Historical Political Economy of Eurasia, to be held July 17–18 at the University of Chicago Center in Paris. So looking forward.
Scott Gehlbach - 2026 Summer Workshop in the Economic History and
Schedule All sessions will be held at the University of Chicago Center in Paris. Friday, July 17 8:45–9:00 Opening remarks 9:00–10:00 Kristy Ironsi...
scottgehlbach.net
Iowa City on the Fourth. “Cities may be large without being urbane, as when segregation discourages mixing outside of one’s narrowly defined group. And communities may be urbane yet still small, as with the quintessential college town.” scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev/urbanity-her...
The Obama Center is more than a museum. For many Chicagoans, it is first and foremost a major investment in the South Side. A few thoughts and photos after visiting this afternoon.
The South Side of Chicago Is the Nicest Part of Town
The Obama Presidential Center is a world-class investment in Chicago's South Side.
scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev
The Obama Center is more than a museum. For many Chicagoans, it is first and foremost a major investment in the South Side. A few thoughts and photos after visiting this afternoon.
The South Side of Chicago Is the Nicest Part of Town
The Obama Presidential Center is a world-class investment in Chicago's South Side.
scottgehlbach.bearblog.dev
They say that Chicago is where fun goes to die, but I can’t imagine a crowd here on a Sunday afternoon like the one that Tianguang Meng assembled last week at Tsinghua University. Thanks for the audience—and for PhD Panda!
Had an excellent time at the UChicago-Beijing Political Economy of Governance Conference, at the UChicago Global Center in Beijing! Top notch papers and amazing hospitality. Huge thanks to Zhaotian Luo, Scott Gehlbach, and Tianguang Meng for hosting!
Group photo on Day 2 of the UChicago-Beijing Political Economy of Governance Conference.
Scott Gehlbach@sgehlbach.bsky.social · 4mo agoDay 1 of the UChicago-Beijing Political Economy of Governance Conference kicks off with two of our most prominent democracy scholars: Carles Boix and Adam Przeworski.
Congratulations to Giorgio Farace and Lingnan He, now PhD alumni of the University of Chicago!
Day 1 of the UChicago-Beijing Political Economy of Governance Conference kicks off with two of our most prominent democracy scholars: Carles Boix and Adam Przeworski.
