Maxwell School News and Commentary

 75% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans said they wore masks in public, finds a study conducted by Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, and her colleagues.

“People are taking their cues from political leadership and from doctors, and to the extent that those are different, people will turn to their more trusted sources,” says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science.

"Normally, I think that people take cues from the president but since his messaging has been relatively muddled... people seem to be filling in their preferred position for his," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science. 

"We’ve recommended that the medical experts be up front and center, and the political leaders take a step back and defer to the doctors and to the head of the health agencies, because that’s who anxious people want to hear from," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science.

"Partisanship is determining how citizens respond to COVID-19, and this divided response puts every American at risk," Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, and her co-authors write. "If America’s political elite cannot come together, the costs of COVID-19 will be disproportionately felt in those places where Republicans did not act." 

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, says that while the primary focus needs to be on the human cost of the crisis, "it is in fact a very good natural experiment to answer the question of how deep our polarization goes — and the answer is, very damn deep."

"The divide in anxiety along partisan lines is very troubling," and that it is "likely to continue until the president and conservative media allow the health experts to lead the messaging," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science.

Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, along with Bethany Albertson of the University of Texas, discussed their book "Anxious Politics: Democratic Citizenship in a Threatening World," and how it can help explain the current public health crisis. 

Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, says that it’s still early to declare an official front-runner in the Democratic presidential primary.

Professor of Economics Mary Lovely says the rules governing scientists’ ties to Chinese research institutions are murky and sometimes lead prosecutors to charge people who have made innocent mistakes. "People can stumble into things inadvertently. The rules have to be very clear and if someone violates those clear rules, then you throw the book at them," she says.