Lucia Motolinia
@luciamotoliniac.bsky.social
Assistant Professor at WUSTL Political Science. Comparativist studying electoral systems, distributive politics, political parties, and Mexican institutions. Proud Mexican.
Congratulations to my brilliant colleague @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social on receiving the Legislative Studies Emerging Scholar Award! A well-deserved recognition for a terrific scholar. If you haven't yet checked out her book, Unity Through Particularism (CUP, 2026), now's the perfect time. 🎉
“Just collect more data” is one of the most common responses to uncertainty in quantitative research. But in a lot of social science, that advice is impossible—or even misleading. Our new working paper asks: when has a study reached its information limit? Check it out here: osf.io/preprints/so...
I am so shocked and saddened by this news. Raúl Pacheco-Vega was such a generous and kind person, supporting and offering his wisdom to so many people, far and near. This is just awful. Que descanse en paz.
harmodio@harmodio.bsky.social · 4mo agoBuen camino, profe Raúl Pacheco Vega. Fuiste y serás siempre el investigador más chido.
What an honor being invited to discuss my book in UNAM. A link to the event here: Un honor la invitación para discutir mi libro en este evento. Pueden encontrar el vídeo de la sesión aquí: www.youtube.com/live/NiYv15k...
"Unity through Particularism How Electoral Reforms Influence Parties and Legislative Behavior"
YouTube video by Canal Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales
youtube.com
Raul Pacheco-Vega@raulpachecovega.bsky.social · 5mo agoEn la presentación del libro de @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social en el Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de la UNAM.
I’ll be presenting my book Unity through Particularism: How Electoral Reforms Influence Parties and Legislative Behavior next Monday at the IIS-UNAM Seminario Interinstitucional El Futuro de la Democracia en México. Hope to see you there!
Really enjoyed this conversation on @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about my new book, Unity Through Particularism. We discuss how electoral institutions shape legislative incentives and what that means for representation. Listen here: newbooksnetwork.com/unity-throug...
Lucia Motolinia, "Unity through Particularism: How Electoral Reforms Influence Parties and Legislative Behavior" (Cambridge UP, 2026) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
My new book, "Unity Through Particularism: How Electoral Reforms Influence Parties and Legislative Behavior," is finally out with Cambridge University Press. A 20% discount is available on the Cambridge site using the code UYTPM25. www.cambridge.org/us/universit...
📣 Call for Nominations: Jack Walker Outstanding Article Award ⏳ Deadline: February 27 📧 Email nominations to: @jmcrosson.bsky.social @rdassonneville.bsky.social @garlicksauce.bsky.social @shamiragelbman.bsky.social @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social
Voters know that politicians are rich, but dramatically underestimate just how rich they are write Marko Klašnja of Georgetown University and @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social of Washington University in St. Louis blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...
Voters know that politicians are rich, but dramatically underestimate just how rich they are | United States Politics and Policy
Telling voters the truth about politicians’ wealth makes little difference to their attitudes towards their elected representatives.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
‼️ New working paper ‼️ We find bipartisan appeals credibly signal policymaking intentions—on an issue-by-issue basis We show how and why bipartisan lawmaking persists amid congressional conflict: progress often comes through issue-specific pathways rather than broad consensus between Ds and Rs 🧵👇
A blog post about Mexico's short-lived reelection experiment: cambridgeblog.org/2025/11/why-...
Why Did Mexico’s Reelection Experiment End So Quickly? My New Book Offers an Answer
On March 4, Mexico took a remarkable step backward: Congress approved a new electoral reform that will, once again, ban consecutive reelection for all elected officials starting in 2030, with the stat...
cambridgeblog.org
Political inexperience in Congress has measurable effects on legislative outcomes. Our research finds that when districts elect political newcomers over career politicians, congressional dysfunction tends to increase. New explainer of our PNAS study: theconversation.com/amateur-hour...
Amateur hour in Congress: How political newcomers fuel gridlock and government shutdowns
The public’s frustration with ‘politics as usual’ has led more political newcomers to win office. But amateurs are more likely to view bipartisanship as a concession, not a tool for advancing policy.
theconversation.com
New editorial from me and @keithschnak.bsky.social. “Why Washington University must not sign Trump's 'compact'”
Opinion: Why Washington University must not sign Trump's 'compact'
Washington University in St. Louis has built its reputation on a simple ideal: excellence wins. For decades, our researchers have competed for and won federal grants based on the quality
stltoday.com
If you are a political theory PhD student or junior scholar interested in discussing all things publishing in political theory, please join the WPSA Political Theory virtual community on Thursday, October 30th for a panel on Academic Publishing. We have a great group of panelists! Please do join us.
Lucia Rafanelli@lrafanell.bsky.social · last yr.Join the @wpsa.bsky.social Political Theory Virtual Community Oct. 30 for a panel on academic publishing! Feat. 3 great speakers: Alison McQueen (@aejm.bsky.social), Shmuel Nili, & Jack Turner. No pre-reading required, only pre-registration! Registration & details here: mailchi.mp/5e42ef9434a2...
Just published at PNAS (@pnas.org): “Electing amateur politicians reduces cross-party collaboration” We show that districts electing first-time members of the U.S. House experience substantial declines in bipartisan representation in the subsequent Congress. 🧵1/4
Congrats to our award winners!
Feeling very honored to receive the 2025 POP Emerging Scholar Award. Grateful to my mentors, co-authors, students, and colleagues who make my work possible. Excited to celebrate together at APSA! @apsa.bsky.social
APSA- Political Organizations & Parties Section@apsa-pop.bsky.social · last yr.🌟🎉 Celebrating @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social (WashU)—recipient of the 2025 Emerging Scholar Award! Her research is already shaping the field in big ways. Come and celebrate with her at the business meeting (Sept 12, Friday, @12pm) #APSA25 @apsa.bsky.social #EmergingScholar
🎉Now online (open access): "Hidden Majoritarianism and Women’s Career Progression in Proportional Representation Systems" at @apsrjournal.bsky.social. @alicirone.bsky.social, @teele.bsky.social, Gary Cox, @fiva.no. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
I'm thrilled that my book, Unity through Particularism: How Electoral Reforms Influence Parties and Legislative Behavior, is now available for pre-order through CUP and Amazon! Let me know if you'd like an electronic copy for your class, and I'll send it to you! www.cambridge.org/us/universit...
5/6 🧵In @ajpseditor.bsky.social @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social Klašnja & @simonweschle.bsky.social show that higher pressures to spend in campaigns leads to a wealthier politician pool. Use data on MP wealth from 40 countries, & quasiexperimental evidence from 🇧🇷 & 🇨🇱 https://doi.org/pz7c
Now out in @ajpseditor.bsky.social: @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social, Marko Klašnja and I show that greater pressures to spend more money on campaigning leads not just to more politicians who are rich, but especially to more politicians who are are *super* rich onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
American Journal of Political Science | MPSA Journal | Wiley Online Library
We provide a comprehensive theoretical and empirical account of the relationship between campaign finance pressures and the wealth of politicians. We argue that the heavily right-skewed wealth distri...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
From April 2025 - When Reelection Increases Party Unity: Evidence from Parties in Mexico - cup.org/3DYOFxl - @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social "I apply correspondence analysis to a new dataset of over half a million legislative speeches in twenty states" #OpenAccess
"Party Considerations for Renomination in Pre-Electoral Coalitions" by @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social (Washington University in St. Louis) onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Party Considerations for Renomination in Pre‐Electoral Coalitions
Pre-electoral coalitions are common across diverse political contexts. In this letter, I examine their impact on one of the most consequential functions of political parties: the candidate selection ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Check out my new publication "Party Considerations for Renomination in Pre-Electoral Coalitions" at LSQ! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Party Considerations for Renomination in Pre‐Electoral Coalitions
Pre-electoral coalitions are common across diverse political contexts. In this letter, I examine their impact on one of the most consequential functions of political parties: the candidate selection ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
NEW - When Reelection Increases Party Unity: Evidence from Parties in Mexico - cup.org/3DYOFxl - @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social "I apply correspondence analysis to a new dataset of over half a million legislative speeches in twenty states" #OpenAccess
So excited to see this paper out!
British Journal of Political Science@bjpols.bsky.social · 2y agoNEW - When Reelection Increases Party Unity: Evidence from Parties in Mexico - cup.org/3DYOFxl - @luciamotoliniac.bsky.social "I apply correspondence analysis to a new dataset of over half a million legislative speeches in twenty states" #OpenAccess
Stefan Müller@stefanmueller.bsky.social · 2y agoOur School is hiring two Assistant Professors (Ad Astra Fellows): five-year tenure-track positions with an annual research budget of €5k, teaching reductions, and a fully-funded PhD researcher. Environmental Politics: my.corehr.com/pls/coreport... Global Governance: my.corehr.com/pls/coreport...
I'm really proud of this paper. We show that greater pressures to spend on campaigns disproportionately (and sometimes exclusively) benefit the super-rich.
Lucia Motolinia@luciamotoliniac.bsky.social · 2y ago🚨New publication Alert! 🚨 Conditionally Accepted at @ajpseditor.bsky.social "The Super-Rich and the Rest: Campaign Finance Permissiveness and the Wealth of Politicians" with my amazing co-authors @simonweschle.bsky.social and Marko Klasnja Full paper & appendix here: sites.wustl.edu/luciamotolin...
