John Sides
@johnsides.bsky.social
Professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University - https://johnsides.org/ Publisher of Good Authority - https://goodauthority.org/
If you're teaching political behavior, race and politics, or criminal justice in the fall, this is for you! My latest for @goodauth.bsky.social synthesizing some of the excellent literature on how carceral contact influences politics 👇 goodauthority.org/news/good-to...
Good to Know: How contact with the carceral state affects our politics
Can direct and indirect contact with police and immigration enforcement officials influence political participation?
goodauthority.org
Neat new APSR paper by my Vanderbilt colleague Alan Wiseman along with Volden, Treul, and Thomsen: "Legislative Effectiveness, Progressive Ambition, and Electoral Success." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
I think readers interested in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and US policy toward the region will want to stick around to the end of this conversation with Asfandyar Mir.
Good Authority@goodauth.bsky.social · 5mo agoPakistan is waging its own war in Afghanistan. @claryc.bsky.social and Asfandyar Mir discuss how these former allies are now in open conflict – and why this might escalate further. Read: goodauthority.org/news/pakista...
Wrote about political scientists' favorite "Well, actually..." It's our favorite for a reason. With data from New Jersey's recent election. goodauthority.org/news/good-to...
Good to Know: How composition effects can distort election narratives
Can elections reveal the public’s true opinions? It depends on who shows up to vote.
goodauthority.org
Excited to share that Cindy Kam’s and my article is published online! We examine item refusal pre- and post-Dobbs and find a significant increase in women’s refusal to disclose their pregnancy status after the decision, with concerning implications for research, policy, and women’s health.
Public Opinion Quarterly - POQ@poqjournal.bsky.social · 5mo agoDid Dobbs have a chilling effect on survey responses? In POQ, Kam & Marcellin find that women were less willing to disclose their pregnancy status in the nation's premier health survey (BRFSS), on the heels of the Dobbs decision. Read now: doi.org/10.1093/poq/...
Women in Congress are wealthier than men in Congress. A new article looks at nearly 40 years of financial disclosures from members of Congress. See the data in the latest article from @johnsides.bsky.social: goodauthority.org/news/women-i...
Women in Congress are wealthier than men in Congress
Women in Congress are wealthier than men in Congress. A new article looks at nearly 40 years of financial disclosures from members of Congress.
goodauthority.org
Fewer people think the American dream is alive – but they disagree on why. A new book argues that politics influences how we explain inequality. Read the latest from @johnsides.bsky.social: goodauthority.org/news/fewer-p...
Fewer people think the American dream is alive – but they disagree on why
Fewer people think the American dream is alive – but they disagree on why. A new book argues that politics influences how we explain inequality.
goodauthority.org
Interesting AmericasBarometer result from @johnsides.bsky.social in this week's @goodauth.bsky.social newsletter. Strong public willingness to trade features of democracy (free elections, free expression) for material and physical security, with some party differences. mailchi.mp/goodauthorit...
Here's the post on Good Authority! Thanks @goodauth.bsky.social @johnsides.bsky.social & Vanessa Lide! goodauthority.org/news/was-the...
Was there censorship on TikTok after the U.S. takeover?
A TikTok outage more likely explains recent anomalies – there’s no evidence of larger platform changes so far.
goodauthority.org
📣📣📣Announcing...Chalkboard Politics @chalkboardpolitics.bsky.social, a podcast by students, for students (and their teachers). Written, edited, and mixed by the students at @siwpscolumbia.bsky.social and distributed by @goodauth.bsky.social. 1/ www.podbean.com/media/share/...
Happy to listen and learn from Brian Greenhill on Trump's withdrawal from dozens of international organizations last week, @goodauth.bsky.social . Part of what Brian calls the liberal international order's "moment of crisis." goodauthority.org/news/trump-p...
Trump plans to pull the U.S. out of dozens of organizations
Trump plans to pull the U.S. out of dozens of organizations. Brian Greenhill discusses the impact of this move – and how Americans see international organizations.
goodauthority.org
The admin is proposing indefinite control of Venezuelan oil, but evidence suggests that Venezuelan cooperation will only extend as far as it‘s coerced - and can’t extend past what the crumbing infrastructure can generate. Meanwhile ordinary Venezuelans continue to suffer. @goodauth.bsky.social
Good Authority@goodauth.bsky.social · 7mo agoRestoring the oil sector – and securing friendlier relations – may prove equally difficult. Here's what to expect in Venezuela, after Maduro. Read from @hsulli.bsky.social: goodauthority.org/news/what-to...
The Vanderbilt Dept of Political Science is looking for two post-doctoral scholars in national security for 2026-27. Please apply or encourage others to apply! apply.interfolio.com/179844
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
I’ve learned much from @jeffcolgan.bsky.social over the years and his take on Trump’s Venezuela antics is well worth reading. goodauthority.org/news/trump-m...
Trump made a clear choice: return to petro-imperialism
Trump made a clear choice: return to petro-imperialism. To understand what just happened in Venezuela, look at oil politics and U.S. foreign policy.
goodauthority.org
Some thoughts on what Trump has done in Venezuela and what it might mean for US national security. Caveat: not a Latin America scholar so this is focused on US policy. Clearly huge consequences for Venezuela that others can address. First, despite the buildup, I didn't think Trump would do it. 1/
"And with that, the 2025 season comes to an end..." Here are Good Authority's top 10 articles of the year. goodauthority.org/news/good-au... A super thread 🧵
Good Authority’s top 10 posts of 2025
Thermostatic politics, democracy under attack, Venezuela, South Africa, and more – the analysis Good Authority readers counted on in 2025.
goodauthority.org
If you are a member of @apsa.bsky.social, please consider putting forward a nominee for the annual Carey McWilliams Award. This year, I am serving on the committee with Dr. @johnsides.bsky.social and Dr. Erika Franklin Fowler. Past award winners include @jamellebouie.net (2025). More info below.
This is a bad survey question that likely exaggerates any Holocaust skepticism. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/... www.jstor.org/stable/26952...
Polling USA@usapolling.bsky.social · 8mo agoAmong Republicans - " The Holocaust of Jews and Nazi Germany was greatly exaggerated or did not happen as historians describe" Disagree: 56% Agree: 37% Manhattan Institute / Oct 26, 2025
I'm chairing the APSA Carey McWilliams Prize Committee. This prize goes to someone who has made "a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics." More information is here: apsanet.org/programs/aps... We would be grateful for people to submit nominations!
Carey McWilliams Award - American Political Science Association (APSA)
Carey McWilliams Award Carey McWilliams Award Nominations now open. The McWilliams Award honors a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of
apsanet.org
The Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions is now acceptable applications for the 2026-27 year. Please share and encourage people to apply! Post Doctoral application apply.interfolio.com/177609 Visiting Scholar application apply.interfolio.com/177613
Have our personal networks become more politically segregated? New research looks at the consequences for political participation and political tolerance. @johnsides.bsky.social breaks down the data here: goodauthority.org/news/have-ou...
Have our personal networks become more politically segregated?
New research looks at the consequences for political participation and political tolerance.
goodauthority.org
Under Biden, there was no thermostatic shift in public opinion about the size of government. The public stayed relatively liberal. Take attitudes toward the government's role in health care:
Imagine asking people two questions -- whether each of these is a good or bad way to run a govt: 1) having a democratic political system 2) having a strong leader who does not have to bother with parliament and elections What percent says *both* are good? 44%!
Three new publications from Vanderbilt political science faculty! First up, Diana Lee and @yamilrvelez.bsky.social, "Measuring Descriptive Representation at Scale: Methods for Predicting the Race and Ethnicity of Public Officials." www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Just like in his 1st term, Trump is going to hover around 40% approval. As @johnsides.bsky.social et al point out in their 2020 election book, Trump always sides with his base rather than choose policies with broader appeal. When you only aim to satisfy 40% of the population, you get 40% approval.
YouGov America@today.yougov.com · last yr.NEW Economist/YouGov Jul 25-28 % who approve | disapprove of Trump U.S. adult citizens 40% | 55% (-15) Last week 41% | 55% Start of term 49% | 43% Democrats 6% | 91% Independents 29% | 62% Republicans 86% | 12% Men 44% | 51% Women 37% | 59% d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/ec...
