Jennifer Wolak

@jwolak.bsky.social

Is support for “states’ rights” really about federalism, or partisanship? Doherty, Touchton & Lyons show views on devolving policy to states hinge on elite cues & which party controls the legislature. #AmericanPolitics Read more: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Partisanship and Support for Devolving Concrete Policy Decisions to the States - Political Behavior

Do people think that some policies should be handled by the states, rather than the national government? In an era characterized by stark party polarization there is reason to suspect that attitudes regarding federalism are shaped by partisan considerations. Specifically, reported support for devolution may be driven by exposure to elite partisan cues and partisan reasoning tied to which political party devolution would empower. Using data from the 2022 Cooperative Election Study, we find that partisans tend to differ—often substantially—in their support for state-level decision-making regarding concrete policy proposals. However, these differences are largely driven by those who are most likely to be exposed to elite cues. We also find that, among both Democrats and Republicans, support for policy devolution is contingent on which party controls the state legislature in an individual’s state. The findings suggest that partisanship plays a central role in shaping what the public says when asked about which level of government should determine whether to implement specific policy proposals.

link.springer.com

Just out in Publius with Bailey Oates: academic.oup.com/publius/adva... We consider public opinion on whether states should be allowed to secede from the U.S. Most people reject the idea. Opposition is tied to people's commitments to democratic principles + strength of national identity.

Public Support for State Secession in the United States

Abstract. Do Americans believe that states should be allowed to secede from the union? Using survey responses to a module of the 2020 Cooperative Election

academic.oup.com

Book contract signed! In "Liberals, Conservatives, and Everyday Democracy," we (me, Jeff Berry, Jim Glaser) examine several attitudes and behaviors we consider important for day-to-day political life. How do Americans do? Do libs/cons differ? If so, why? Due out in fall 2025 from U Chicago Press!

States are increasingly pushing back against national laws. How do people see this kind of uncooperative federalism? Now up @ Political Research Quarterly: I find people oppose state challenges to national laws in principle, but tolerate them in practice. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Public Support for State Challenges to National Laws - Jennifer Wolak, 2024

State governments are increasingly challenging the national government and pursuing state rules in opposition to national laws. I am interested in whether the p...

journals.sagepub.com

just out with Carey Stapleton at Public Opinion Quarterly: doi.org/10.1093/poq/... Those with high political self-confidence express more partisan animus and greater support for out-party discrimination. High levels of personal self-esteem, however, predict an intolerance of out-party hostility.

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Join us at Michigan State on Friday, May 10 for PRIEC and share your work on race, ethnicity, and immigration! Deadline to apply is this Friday, March 22. We are planning a small honorarium to grad student presenters to help defray some travel costs.   docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

The Politics of Race, Immigration, and Ethnicity Consortium at Michigan State University

Dear Scholars of Race, Ethnic, and State Politics, The Minority Politics Lab in the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University is pleased to announce that we will be hosting a meetin...

docs.google.com

🚨It's finally out AND #OpenAccess!!! Do you do survey experiments? This article is for you! 7 things that increase the risk of null/non-significant results & how to detect/prevent them. It's one of my fav things I've ever written so I hope you enjoy ☺️ polisky cup.org/3OQhKNv

More than meets the ITT: A guide for anticipating and investigating nonsignificant results in survey experiments | Journal of Experimental Political Science | Cambridge Core

More than meets the ITT: A guide for anticipating and investigating nonsignificant results in survey experiments

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