Maxwell School News and Commentary

According to Michael Barkun, professor emeritus of political science, disillusionment can be a subtle risk of conspiracy theory media. "People may draw the conclusion that conventional politics is meaningless. If they genuinely believe that what happens in the world is a result of the hidden hand of some mysterious elite, then presumably ordinary political activity is meaningless as are the decisions of lawmakers and officeholders," he says. 

The report by Maxwell alumnus Chris Pulliam ’17 B.A. (Econ/Psc)/’18 M.P.A. examines various proposed and current tax credit policies in the United States, including the earned income tax credit, child tax credit, and workers tax credit.

"Most experts agree that there is no crisis at the southern border," William Banks, professor emeritus of public administration and international affairs, says about Trump's claim that a wall is needed because of a crisis at the border.

"If history has given us any lesson, it is that the U.S. government should step aside and let the Venezuelan people—with the assistance of multilateral organizations—guide this much-needed opening for democratic change forward," writes Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history and the Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations.  

INSTEX is a a new channel with Iran intended to provide a means for the European parties to comply with the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, of which the United States is no longer a party. "Based on the reservations expressed by major corporations, I doubt that too many big European firms would be willing to deal with Iran through this channel," said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, professor of political science. 

Generally, people find workers and taxpayers to be deserving of government benefits,” says Christopher Faricy, associate professor of political science.

"What the shutdown reveals is that the Trump administration does not have a very specific game plan for what it wants," says Dimitar Gueorguiev, assistant professor of political science. "So what it is going to do is to give the Chinese negotiators reason to pause and wonder whether any sort of deal they reach would credibly exist in the future."

"More tariffs and failure to get a deal will ultimately seem to people like further failure of the government," says Mary Lovely, professor of economics.