Farnsworth Comments in the News
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently commented on the following news stories:
Commentary: Youngkin sheds moderate image in first month (The Daily Progress)
Va. House passes ban on mask mandates in schools (WTOP)
Newbie governors with no governing experience face a steep learning curve (Virginia Mercury)
Virginia legislative session hits crucial midpoint (Courthouse News)
Halftime report (Cardinal News)
The Two Faces of Glenn Youngkin (Legacy Newspaper)
Schapiro: An aggravation lawmakers, especially Democrats, don’t need (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Poll: Youngkin’s job approval mixed; policy proposals unpopular (WTOP)
Prejudice grew in Trump supporters during his presidency, studies find (Courthouse News; Raw Story)
Spanberger leaping into new district, but won’t move family before January (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Farnsworth Comments in the News
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently commented on the following news stories:
Virginia Senate Approves Bill that Would Make Masks Optional in Schools (WSET; ABC 7 News; WJLA)
Judge rules for 7 Va. school boards, temporarily halts Youngkin mask mandate ban (WTOP)
Flouting CDC, Youngkin health chief wants to help Virginia move on from COVID (The Washington Post)
Tweet mocking teen is latest stumble for Glenn Youngkin (Axios)
Gov. Youngkin ‘regrets’ campaign tweet slamming Virginia teen (WUSA; 13 New Now)
The Two Faces of Glenn Youngkin (US News and World Report)
Virginia Republicans propose making abortion illegal after 20 weeks and it could pass (WUSA)
The Democratic Electorial Decline of 2021 (Virginia Capitol Connections)
The Challenges of Electing Governors and Lieutenant Governors Separately (Rasmussen Reports)
Andy Parker makes his bid to oust Rep. Bob Good (Cardinal News)
Poll: Trump’s Endorsement Could Sway GOP Voters Toward Cox (Maryland Matters)
Donald Trump refers to himself as ’45th and 47th president’ (Express UK)
U.S. Groups Support Ottawa Protests (CTV News)
Larus Appears on Webcast on Hong Kong, Taiwan’s Impact on U.S. Policy Toward China
Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs Elizabeth Freund Larus participated in a webcast on AsianPolyGlotView.com entitled, “How Hong Kong and Taiwan Impact the Future of U.S. Policy Toward China.” Watch here.
Lester Comments on Proposed Texas Social Studies Textbooks
Professor of Political Science Emile Lester offered comments to the Friendly Atheist blog on proposed Texas social studies textbooks, which are being criticized for “exaggerating Judeo-Christian influence on the nation’s founding,” featuring “incomplete — and often inaccurate — account of religions other than Christianity,” using “outdated — and possibly offensive — anthropological categories and racial terminology in describing African civilizations” and one textbook included “a biased — verging on offensive — treatment of affirmative action.”
Emile Lester, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia, summarized his report this way: He called the texts a “triumph of ideology over ideals.”
The standards and the textbooks will combine to make Texas students’ “knowledge of American history a casualty of the culture wars,” Lester wrote. Read more.
Farnsworth Comments in the News
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently commented on the following news stories:
Voting Districts Approved in Virginia (NBC4)
Stay or go? New Congressional maps present residency issue for Representatives (NPR)
New General Assembly maps pair plenty of incumbents (WVTF)
Outside the Lines (Richmond Magazine)
Ellis the lone Republican bidding for new 7th District Congressional seat — so far (Potomac Local)
An end to political delay tactics? (Cardinal News)
Some state Democrats want a special session to protect abortion rights (WVTF)
Lawmakers Mark Capitol Riot Anniversary (CTV Winnipeg News)
Ivanka and Don Jr. Subpoenaed in Civil Case (CTV News)
Looking back on U.S. President Joe Biden’s first year – the highs and the lows (CHQR Radio Calgary)
Presidents Biden and Putin Speak By Phone (CTV News)
Sheer political will may be Trump’s greatest asset (Williston Herald; Conway Daily)
His 40-hour nightmare on I-95 is over. A lot of questions remain. (WTVR; WTKR)
Davidson Presents on U.S.-Italy Relations Virtually to Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson delivered a virtual presentation entitled “Defense and Security Relations Between the U.S. and Italy: Challenges and Prospects” on Dec. 13 to a conference on U.S.-Italy relations at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Davidson was one of just five academics invited to present. An article (in Italian) about his lecture can be found here: https://formiche.net/2021/12/relazione-italia-usa-iai-davidson/.
On Dec. 3, Dr. Davidson also presented (with co-author Carla Monteleone of the University of Palermo) a paper titled “The G20 and Italy in the International System: Keeping Our Dreams Alive?” at a virtual, invitation-only conference on Italian Politics hosted by the Johns Hopkins University’s Europe program in Bologna, Italy.
Farnsworth Comments in the News
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently commented on the following news stories:
The Virginia Redistricting Process (Red, White and Confused radio program WEHC 90.7 FM)
New draft Virginia legislative maps released (Virginia Mercury)
Draft maps redraw, renumber House, Senate maps in Fredericksburg region (Culpeper Star-Exponent)
Northam vows to raise teacher pay 10 percent. Will it happen? (The Washington Post)
New map puts Fauquier in 10th Congressional District (Fauquier Now)
Draft maps redraw, renumber House, Senate maps in Fredericksburg region (The Free Lance-Star)
Larus Publishes Book Chapter on Taiwan’s Military
Elizabeth Freund Larus, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Political Science and International Affairs published her chapter “Taiwan’s Military Posture toward China’s Confrontational Stance,” with Agata Wiktoria Ziętek (Marie Curie-Skłodowska University) in Taiwan: Environmental, Political and Social Issues? Caleb M. Clark, Karl Ho, and Alexander C. Tan. The chapter employs defensive realist theory to analyze Taiwan’s military response to China’s threats. The chapter, based on Professor Larus’s field research in Taiwan, finds that domestic considerations, such as an economy that has already matured and is experiencing lower than previous growth rates, shifting demographics, and difficulties in implementing restructuring of the military all present nearly insurmountable challenges to Taiwan’s military modernization and defense capabilities. These domestic limitations are compounded by the hesitation of many countries to sell arms to Taiwan or to engage in weapons development with Taiwan. The book may be purchased through the publisher at https://novapublishers.com/shop/taiwan-environmental-political-and-social-issues/ or though Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Taiwan-Environmental-Political-Social-Issues/dp/1536198374
Davidson’s Book Reviewed in Digital International Relations Publication
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Jason Davidson’s book, America’s Entangling Alliances: 1778 to the Present, recently received a positive review essay in H-Diplo, a well-respected digital international relations publication.
Teachers of United States foreign relations know that the myth of isolationism is strong among their students. The axioms of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson about steering clear of permanent and entangling alliances hold great power in the discourse of U.S. history. Modern scholarship, though, shows clearly that the U.S. has long engaged in active and often complex foreign relations with the wider world in pursuit of real or perceived national interests: from war and peace with indigenous peoples in North America since the colonial era to missile strikes in the Middle East under modern Republican and Democratic administrations. Many of these actions were often unilateral, but alliances and other agreements with other countries like France in 1778 or Latin American states in 1823 or the United States’ twentieth century coalitions were not unusual. For scholars today, the question is not so much ‘did the U.S. entangle itself with others’ but ‘how’ and ‘why.’
Jason W. Davidson’s America’s Entangling Alliances: 1778 to the Present is a useful addition to this scholarship and a good tool for teachers and researchers alike. Written from a decidedly political science perspective. Davidson engages in a meaningful way with the more recent standard U.S. foreign relations historiography, especially surveys by scholars and writers like George Herring, Walter McDougall, and Walter Russell Mead. Refreshingly, Davidson makes use of a variety of published primary sources and online archival resources to ground his analysis in an evidentiary record historians will appreciate. Read more.