Public Administration and International Affairs Department News, Media Commentary and Research

“The critical difference is there was no threat to the integrity of a democracy in Tennessee,” says William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs. “Insurrection conditions occur when civilian authorities are unable to enforce the laws. That was a real threat on Jan. 6. Not so in Nashville.”

The visibility of losing their flagship for an entire fleet inevitably attracted attention, says retired Vice Admiral Robert Murrett, professor of practice of public administration and international affairs. It proved that any and all Russian vessels approaching Ukraine's littoral waters were under threat, he adds.

Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs is ranked #1 overall in a survey of its peers and is highly ranked in ten subspecialties, according to the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Public Affairs School rankings. The school has received the top honor in 12 of the 13 years in which the peer surveys have been conducted; this year, the honor is shared with Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

That show of force was as much for “domestic consumption inside China” as it was for Taiwan, says retired Vice Adm. Robert Murrett, professor of practice of public administration and international affairs. And the scale and intensity of the drills  “were calibrated very, very carefully,” to minimize threat perceptions, he says.

William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs, tells Agence France Presse the case is "fraught" with difficulties and the charges pale in comparison to the legal jeopardy Trump could face elsewhere. Banks specifically cites Georgia, where prosecutors are investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the southern state.

"Returns to Scale in Property Assessment: Evidence from New York State’s Small Localities Coordination Program," co-authored by Maxwell professors Yilin Hou and John Yinger, was published in the National Tax Journal.

Michael Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs and director of the master of arts in international relations program, has been elected to the Governing Council of the International Studies Association and the Executive Committee of the Governing Council for 2023-24. 

"The Social and Community Consequences of the Opioid Epidemic," co-authored by Colleen Heflin, professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in The ANNALS of the Academy of Political and Social Science.

Sarah Hamersma, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, believes the number of Onondaga County residents who lose coverage will be less than the 9.5% estimated by a federal government study. That’s because New York’s Medicaid and other public health insurance programs are more generous than those offered by many other states, she says.

"Exploring factors shaping transportation electrification in American cities," co-authored by Saba Siddiki, associate professor of public administration and international affairs, was published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition.

"Putin’s War of Recolonization," co-authored by Maxwell professors Renée de Nevers and Brian Taylor, was published in the Journal of Democracy.

The Moscow summit has the effect of underscoring and reinforcing the status of “Russia as a junior partner with China—economically, militarily and diplomatically,” Robert Murrett, professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, tells the Associated Press.

"Food Insecurity and the Opioid Crisis," co-authored by Colleen Heflin, professor and chair of public administration and international affairs, and postdoctoral research scholar Xiaohan Sun, was published in the ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

"Putin has always known that NATO poses no credible security threat to Russia itself. Since the end of the Cold War, NATO’s force posture and the U.S. military presence in Europe have greatly declined, reducing any potential military threat to Russia. What really scares the Russian elite is the spread of democracy," argues Michael John Williams, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.

"'Model minorities'" in the classroom? Positive evaluation bias towards Asian students and its consequences," co-authored by Ying Shi, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs, and Maria Zhu, assistant professor of economics, was published in the Journal of Public Economics.

“Unfortunately,” says Colleen Heflin, professor and chair of public administration and international affairs, “my own work suggests that cognitive decline can act as a barrier to SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] participation among older adults eligible for the program, due to the difficult administrative processes associated with demonstrating program eligibility.”

Robert Murrett, professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, says that at the strategic level, the biggest setback for Putin is "the huge casualties that the Russians have taken." 

“There are just a lot more things in the atmosphere we have to worry about,” says retired Vice Adm. Robert Murrett, professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.