DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE – UC SAN DIEGO
Department of
Political Science
UC San Diego
NEWSLETTER SPRING 2016
A New
Game?
Reflections
on the 2016
Republican
Presidential
Primary
By Seth Hill
This presidential primary season has
been fascinating on many dimensions,
but of course I must opine about the
success of businessman and reality TV
star Donald Trump in the Republican
primary. While the rise of Trump has
many important national and
international political implications, I
think there are two central questions
his success poses for students of
politics. First, does the success of
Trump suggest we change the way we
think about presidential nominating
contests? Second, is the success of
Trump idiosyncratic to his celebrity, or
is it evidence of broader structural
challenges for the electoral coalition of
the Republican Party?
On the first point, political scientists
have long appreciated that primary
elections (and party nominations more
generally) are a more dynamic electoral
process than general elections in the
United States. Primary elections are not
structured by the partisan attachments
of voters because candidates are of the
same party, leading to much more
dynamic and unpredictable contests
than general elections. One feature of
nominating contests is that backing
from party leaders, such as sitting
Senators, governors, and major donors
is related to likelihood of gaining
nomination. Without this support, it is
difficult for a candidate to mount the
campaign required to win primaries
held in the many different states and
times across the great diversity of our
country. Support from party leaders
helps smooth the campaign out as
candidates move from Iowa to New
Hampshire to South Carolina to Nevada
and eventually to California.
Trump not only lacks the support of
party leaders, many of them express
outright disdain for his candidacy.
Despite this ambivalence and
opposition, Trump has continued to
rack up victories and delegates. This
Issue 5
suggests two possibilities. One
reason Trump may be different is
his celebrity. He doesn’t need
party leaders to campaign for him
in the many states around the
country because he has been a
salient national figure for
decades, including his recent
celebrity as a reality TV star. He
may thus be unusually wellpositioned to win a nomination
without the support of party
leaders. Given that primaries have
always been rather unpredictable,
I do not think this unpredictable
primary changes how we should
think about nominating contests.
The second question on
structural challenges is
compelling. As many have noted,
Trump’s supporters claim to
distrust and dislike the Republican
Party leadership, and so
leadership opposition to his
candidacy may actually increase
the appeal of Trump to these
supporters. Why do these
supporters distrust the current
(continued on page 2)
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE – UC SAN DIEGO
leadership? This is a central question to
date unanswered. If they disagree with
the policy platform of the party, this
suggests the potential for structural
changes to the Republican coalition –
which would have consequences for
the Democratic coalition, as well. If,
however, the disagreement is about
tactics, strategy, rhetoric, or due to
frustration with the economic and
social situation currently confronting
these voters, it may be that when 2016
passes, the Republican coalition will
continue similar to before. The
outcome of this nomination will give us
some clues as to what will happen: will
a large subset of Republican voters
refuse to support a Trump nominee in
the fall general election? Or, will they
mostly fall in line? The former would
suggest the possibility of large-scale
changes to the party coalitions.
TRITON DAY! Thousands of admitted
freshmen and their friends and families
came out to Triton Day on April 9th to visit
UCSD for the day. Political Science had a
fantastic time showcasing our department!
Above, our undergraduate advisor, Ariane
Parkes, is speaking to new students. That
afternoon, Professor Maureen Feeley gave a
presentation with standing room only. Since
some people had to be turned away, she
held a repeat performance right afterwards!
CONGRATULATIONS!
John A. Perez, California Assembly
Speaker Emeritus and UC Regent
On Thursday, April 14th, UC San
Diego's Center for Tomorrow's
California and the Associated Students
at UCSD hosted the “Will California Pick
the Next President? A Primer on the
Primary” event. The featured speaker
was SuperDelegate for the Democrats,
John A. Perez, California Assembly
Speaker Emeritus and UC
Regent. Panelists included Denise
Ducheny, UCSD Center for U.S.-Mexican
Studies and former state Senator;
Nathan Fletcher, UCSD Professor of
Practice and former state
Assemblymember; Krystl Fabella,
Associated Students Vice President of
External Affairs; and Codi
Vierra, Executive Director, Student
Organized Voter Access Committee
(SOVAC). The event moderator
was Thad Kousser, UCSD Professor of
Political Science. They asked and
discussed the following questions: Will
Donald Trump reach the 1,237 delegate
total he needs to avoid a brokered
convention? Can Bernie Sanders follow
up on his string of recent victories to
complete his comeback over Hillary
Clinton? How will California's complex
primary rules and diverse electorate
influence these critical outcomes? Here
is a YouTube link to a story about the
event: http://youtu.be/pK6V2uV8VMQ
Please join us in congratulating
graduate students Dotan Haim,
Andrew Janusz, and Inbok Rhee,
(pictured above in order) who all
received the Friends of the
International
Center scholarship. The Friends
scholarships are given to
graduate students planning to
conduct research or study
abroad. The award recipients are
students who have a
distinguished academic record;
promote international friendship,
understanding, and cooperation;
and contribute in a meaningful
way to programs at the
International Center.
Job Market!
PhD Placement Candidates:
http://polisci.ucsd.edu/grad/hire
-a-phd/index.html
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE – UC SAN DIEGO
SPOTLIGHT:
UNDERGRADUATE
ALUM
In 2015, Sandy Chang graduated with a
double major in Political Science/
International Relations and Management
Science. After graduating, she went to UT
Austin to pursue a degree of Master of
Professional Accounting. Afterwards, she
received an offer from a
Houston Forensics Advisory service,
Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Sandy believes that one of the main
reasons she received such a good
opportunity was because of her
background in Political Science and
Economics and the passion that the
faculty members put into teaching.
Their passion in different policy arenas
and generous encouragement to students
have definitely made a great impact on
her life.
During her interview, she was asked
about her publication of the Time to Phase
Out the One Child Policy, which was a
policy brief she wrote for her class POLI
122 “Politics of Human Rights“ in 2012.
She is happy to report that she recently
saw in the news that the Party in China
repealed the one-child policy with a twochild policy, which was exactly her policy
recommendation after detailed research
and analysis.
Please join us in congratulating current
graduate student Elaine Denny, who is a recipient
of the 2015/16 Barbara and Paul Saltman
Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate
Students. Granted by the Academic Senate, this
award is a rare recognition of outstanding
teaching.
A POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR
GOES TO THE UC,
SACRAMENTO PROGRAM
In a joint collaboration with the
University of San Diego School of Law,
UCSD Political Science majors recently had
the opportunity to intern at USD School of
Law’s centers: the Center for Public
Interest Law, the Children’s Advocacy
Institute, and the Energy Policy Initiatives
Center. Political Science/Political Theory
major Lavinia Osilesi completed an
internship at the Center for Public Interest
Law this past fall.
____________________________
While an intern, Lavinia furthered her
passion for public interest work by
drafting public records act requests,
attending regulatory hearings of California
regulatory boards, and tracking legislation
for California’s 25 regulatory agencies.
Her keystone project at CPIL involved
researching the recent North Carolina
Dental Board of Examiners v. Federal
Trade Commission Supreme Court case.
Lavinia says, “The NC v. FTC case opened
my eyes to far reaching effects that the
law can have on the day to day life of
Americans. I am most grateful for my
supervisors, advisors, and mentors at CPIL
who challenged, encouraged, and
developed my legal research skills. My
internship at CPIL was a valuable
experience that I will use in my future
legal career.”
We asked Elaine about her teaching
philosophy and she says she sets high but
attainable expectations for her
students. They are expected to approach
their learning with integrity, professionalism,
and a willingness to engage. She does not,
however, expect perfection. Elaine says that
research suggests that often what we
commonly consider “intelligence” or
“aptitude” is not hard-wired, but rather is
the result of long-term effort, hard work,
and practice. Her courses are a learning
environment in which students have the
space to try and fail, to safely make mistakes
and learn from them. Congratulations,
Elaine!
Amy Nguyen, a Political Science major,
spent the Winter 2016 quarter
participating at UC Center Sacramento.
Amy interned in the Governor’s Office of
Planning and Research (OPR). She
describes that office as a “very unique
and bustling work environment” where
she was “very surprised to see how many
different independent projects are
floating around the office.”
When we met up
with her, Amy said
that she was
“involved in
multiple projects,
some of which
include updating
the California
General Plan
Guidelines, improving the planning and
implementation of the California National
Security Mission, and conducting
independent original research about
global reporting platforms for
greenhouse gas emissions.”
Beyond her projects, Amy’s co-workers
and supervisors have been instrumental
in her success in the program. “My
supervisors and co-workers have always
made themselves available in case I
needed their input or help,” she said. “By
initiating continual conversations with my
supervisors about my project ideas and
interests, I’ve been able to cultivate good
relationships while simultaneously
building my own credibility.”
Amy notes that the UC Sacramento
program is appealing in its combination
of rigorous coursework and professional
work experience. Amy noted, “Learning
through a textbook is definitely not the
same as living the textbook; information
certainly sticks better when you can see
how it’s applicable to real life. Some
examples of skills I’ve learned are CEQA
document processing, data gathering and
compiling, networking, and public
speaking…I also learned about
quantitative research methods in order to
supplement my independent research
project.”
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE – UC SAN DIEGO
Congratulations to our
Esteemed Colleagues on
Their Retirement:
William Chandler. Recently retired after 18 years at
UCSD and some 48 years of research and teaching in
Canada, Germany, France and the US, Bill will
continue to expand his expertise in European politics.
While on recall at UCSD, he will also serve as Senior
Fellow at the American University in Paris. Beyond
that, he will enjoy new opportunities to advance his
artistic pursuits, especially working with oils, en plein
air. Friends will be surprised to hear of his persisting
dedication to the world of golf.
Steve Erie. In the next year, Steve is having long
overdue hip surgery, hopefully followed by long daily
walks. He plans to catch up on his reading,
particularly LA police procedurals a la Michael
Connelly and back issues of The New Yorker. He and
his significant other, Kathleen, are going to Maui in
the fall, the first of many planned trips. He will be
back in the classroom for a few more years as a recall
professor.
Gary Jacobson. Gary plans to keep working on
current projects, including a couple of articles on the
2016 elections (never a dull moment) and a book on
how presidents influence their parties' images and
popular standing. He will keep his office at UCSD for
at least a few more years and will be available to any
graduate students who are interested. He will also do
a bit more traveling.
Sam Kernell. Although Sam now aspires for two
rounds of golf a week, he reports that he is otherwise
mostly in denial. In addition to endlessly revising his
introductory textbook, Sam is writing Veto Rhetoric,
which examines the influence of presidents' veto
threats on legislation. His FOIA request to OMB for
all previously unreleased Statements of
Administration Policy was rewarded this March with
over 2,000 new memoranda, about three times the
number he expected. He is now preparing a NSF
grant to distribute them to the profession and
analyze their legislative impact.
Peter Smith. Peter’s tentative plan is to move to the
Rockies. Both of his daughters are students at CUBoulder and his two-year-old grandson lives in
Denver (with his parents). The overall project is
family reunification.
Welcome New Faculty
Members:
UNDERGRADUATE CORNER
LaGina Gause will join the Department in
Fall 2017. Until then, she will serve as a
postdoc at Harvard University. Her research
explores American politics, political
participation, political representation, race
and ethnic politics, and inequality.
EXCITING
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE
DEPARTMENT
Yiqing Xu will join the Department in Fall
2016. He studies methodology and Chinese
political economy and comes from the
Department of Political Science at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
INTERNSHIPS
Local Internship Research
Program. For more
information visit:
polisci.ucsd.edu/undergrad/
internships
RESEARCH
Happening NOW:
Board of Pre-Law
Advisors
••••••••••••••••
Board members are attorneys
currently enrolled in the doctoral
program in political science and are
available for individual
appointments to discuss careers in
law, selection of appropriate law
schools, or any other concerns you
may have about this career path.
http://prelawboard.ucsd.edu/
A heartfelt thank you
to our donors this year:
Hooman A. Asbaghi
Christina T. Aguila
Tzyy J. Chan
Angelica De Mesa
Marjorie B.
Eastman
Jeffrey I. Ehrlich
Diane L. Eng
Jeffrey S. Gray
Danielle D. Griffiths
Melanie M. Guiang
Caitlin C. Halferty
Bret G. Hamelin
Richard C. Hedden
Jason W. Hirata
Ethan J. Hollander
Luis M. Huang
Nabil A. Issa
Omeed Jamali
Kameron M.
Kordestani
Zi Y. Lei
Irina N. Santamaria
Jesse Shim
Belinda Torres
Tiffany D. Truong
Erin M. Wallace
Alexander J. Wong
If we neglected to include your name, we
sincerely apologize and please let us know.
RESOURCES FOR
CURRENT UNDERGRADES
Like our Facebook page
“Political Science
Department at UCSD” for
consistently updated
information on internship
and career opportunities.
POLITICAL SCIENCE
STUDENT’S
ASSOCIATION (PSSA)
AT UCSD
Like their Facebook Page
“Political Science Student’s
Association at UCSD”
or contact the club directly:
[email protected]
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE – UC SAN DIEGO
CAREER AND INTERNSHIP EVENTS
This year the department hosted several career and internship information
sessions for Political Science majors:
st
•
•
“Careers for Political Science Majors” on February 1
“Graduate Study in Public Policy, Public Administration or
•
International Affairs” on February 8 (hosted by Career Services)
“Legal Careers/Applying to Law School” on February 10th
th
th
• “CIA Careers and Internships” on March 8
Current Political Science students should be on the lookout for more career
and alumni events this year and in 2016/17. Notifications are sent to your
@ucsd.edu e-mail account.
Graduate Recognition - 2016
Congratulations to current Ph.D.
Candidate Nathan Combes, who has
been selected for the cohort of the UC
San Diego chapter of the Bouchet
Graduate Honor society. The selected
students attended the Bouchet
Conference on Diversity in Graduate
Education at Yale University on April 12, 2016 where they were inducted into
the society.
Nathan Combes at the Bouchet Graduate Honor
Society Induction Ceremony at Yale University.
Nathan is pictured in the top row, to the right.
UCSD Political Science – International Relations
Rankings!
*******************************
Scholars recently ranked the top 25 International Relations programs for
undergraduate and graduate programs in the world. UCSD was ranked 13th
in the world to study International Relations on the undergraduate level and
7th in the world on the graduate level.
Lunch with the Chair, Phil Roeder
STAFF CORNER
Kimberly (Linsley) Eaton is our new MSO. She
joins us from the Institute for Genomic
Medicine where she served as MSO. She holds
an MBA from Pepperdine University and a BA
in mathematics from Hamilton College in New
York. Welcome Kimberly!
Aubrey Rudd is our new Graduate Program
Coordinator. Most recently, she worked as an
academic advisor at Oregon State University.
She holds a Master of Teaching and Learning
with Technology from Ashford University and
a B.S. in Business Administration from San
Diego State. Welcome Aubrey!
Kimberly pictured on left and Aubrey
on right
Melanie Limbo is one
of our student workers.
She is a third year
General Biology major
who hopes to become a
physician’s assistant.
She is also a first year
transfer from Berkeley
City College in the Bay
Area.
Reina Francisco is the
other student admin
assistant but from the
LA area. She is a second
year Social Psychology
major, minoring in Law
and Society. In the future,
she hopes to go into the
field of forensic psychology.
CONTACT US!
Email: [email protected]
OR visit: polisci.ucsd.edu