Steven White
@notstevenwhite.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University. Chess enthusiast. Author of World War II and American Racial Politics (http://amzn.to/3ESQkzP). Now studying the history of police unions. https://notstevenwhite.github.io
The poker thing gives me an excuse to share Zohran Mamdani's US Chess Federation profile page: ratings.uschess.org/player/12794...
US Chess
ratings.uschess.org
November 26, 2025 at 5:11 PM
The poker thing gives me an excuse to share Zohran Mamdani's US Chess Federation profile page: ratings.uschess.org/player/12794...
I like when you're watching the most macho American sport and they go to commercial with a real sexy Depeche Mode song
November 23, 2025 at 11:37 PM
I like when you're watching the most macho American sport and they go to commercial with a real sexy Depeche Mode song
Really unfair this happened today instead of last semester when I was teaching my New Deal class
November 22, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Really unfair this happened today instead of last semester when I was teaching my New Deal class
Well, at least we didn't make online survey experiments the dominant methodological approach in major areas of the discipline
new paper by Sean Westwood:
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research
November 18, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Well, at least we didn't make online survey experiments the dominant methodological approach in major areas of the discipline
This is true historically, but there's plenty of reason to think sectionalism is much less important now than it was in the past, whereas the sorts of rural vs urban divides that exist in every state have become way more important.
November 17, 2025 at 7:13 PM
This is true historically, but there's plenty of reason to think sectionalism is much less important now than it was in the past, whereas the sorts of rural vs urban divides that exist in every state have become way more important.
Incredible contribution to the process tracing literature
November 12, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Incredible contribution to the process tracing literature
I love how accidentally terrifying this photo is
November 11, 2025 at 3:32 AM
I love how accidentally terrifying this photo is
Can't believe this is a real county name
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Can't believe this is a real county name
It's good that polling bias declined in 2024 from 2016/2020, but very notable that the bias was still in the same direction. It "should" be the case that the bias "could have" been against Harris (some people on here speculated that), but, no, polls still systematically under-sample Trump types.
There's going to be a lot of focus on the topline -- that polling was more accurate than in 2016 and 2020 but still biased towards Dems on average by 2.7 pp -- but I want to highlight some of the other findings I found most interesting
🚨It's finally here!🚨
AAPOR's Taskforce on 2024 Pre-Election Polling report is out!
Full report: /https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AAPOR-Task-Force-on-2024-Pre-Election-Polling_Report.pdf
Executive summary: aapor.org/wp-content/u...
AAPOR's Taskforce on 2024 Pre-Election Polling report is out!
Full report: /https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AAPOR-Task-Force-on-2024-Pre-Election-Polling_Report.pdf
Executive summary: aapor.org/wp-content/u...
October 29, 2025 at 8:26 PM
It's good that polling bias declined in 2024 from 2016/2020, but very notable that the bias was still in the same direction. It "should" be the case that the bias "could have" been against Harris (some people on here speculated that), but, no, polls still systematically under-sample Trump types.
People are using a little pocket computer to bicker about a thing someone said about a thing someone else said about a thing another person did in a state that has like 7 people. The human brain wasn’t designed for this sort of thing.
October 21, 2025 at 11:58 PM
People are using a little pocket computer to bicker about a thing someone said about a thing someone else said about a thing another person did in a state that has like 7 people. The human brain wasn’t designed for this sort of thing.
It's remarkable how many of our current political problems, from the really big ones to the relatively small ones, exist in the shadow of George W. Bush's foreign policy decisions.
October 21, 2025 at 6:57 PM
It's remarkable how many of our current political problems, from the really big ones to the relatively small ones, exist in the shadow of George W. Bush's foreign policy decisions.
Should be unconstitutional to make people choose between watching the Jets and the Giants just because they live in New York
October 5, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Should be unconstitutional to make people choose between watching the Jets and the Giants just because they live in New York
I love filling out recommendation forms with questions like "based on your experience grading this student's bluebook exams, please look into their soul and rate it on a 1-5 scale"
September 30, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I love filling out recommendation forms with questions like "based on your experience grading this student's bluebook exams, please look into their soul and rate it on a 1-5 scale"
The most surprising (small N) trend I've seen is multiple students wearing Deftones shirts. I also recently saw someone wearing a Mazzy Star shirt. But the most niche thing I've seen recently is a guy on campus wearing a Bathory shirt of all things, but I assume he's an extreme outlier.
I have a student who wears 90s rock band shirts (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc) and it breaks my brain to think that this is the same thing as a 90s kid wearing a Stones shirt.
September 27, 2025 at 8:46 PM
The most surprising (small N) trend I've seen is multiple students wearing Deftones shirts. I also recently saw someone wearing a Mazzy Star shirt. But the most niche thing I've seen recently is a guy on campus wearing a Bathory shirt of all things, but I assume he's an extreme outlier.
I think it's just objectively true that the FDR era Democratic Party was not a leader on civil rights, yet the civil rights movement still benefitted from the New Deal liberalism that the party put into place in ways that weren't fully anticipated from the perspective of, say, 1933.
Isn’t the inevitable corollary of this “civil rights was a mistake”
September 22, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I think it's just objectively true that the FDR era Democratic Party was not a leader on civil rights, yet the civil rights movement still benefitted from the New Deal liberalism that the party put into place in ways that weren't fully anticipated from the perspective of, say, 1933.
Lots of differences between the current moment and the New Deal era obviously, but one I've been thinking about a lot is the decline of sectionalism/regionalism and its replacement by an urban vs. rural divide that exists basically everywhere. Creates both opportunities and challenges.
to be more specific, although FDR had to play ball with southern segregationists in congress, he did not do so by sacrificing black voters in the urban north to their whims.
September 22, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Lots of differences between the current moment and the New Deal era obviously, but one I've been thinking about a lot is the decline of sectionalism/regionalism and its replacement by an urban vs. rural divide that exists basically everywhere. Creates both opportunities and challenges.
Got back from Vancouver late last night and my Uber driver was a guy who grew up in northern NY near the Canadian border. We spent most of the ride talking about Canadian rock music and he introduced me to this awesome electric guitar version of "O Canada" www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V-n...
Gordie Johnson performs Oh Canada 04/11/2015
YouTube video by Dustin Smith
www.youtube.com
September 17, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Got back from Vancouver late last night and my Uber driver was a guy who grew up in northern NY near the Canadian border. We spent most of the ride talking about Canadian rock music and he introduced me to this awesome electric guitar version of "O Canada" www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V-n...
Reposted by Steven White
Headed to Vancouver for #apsa2025? Check out these great panels with SU PoliSci scholars.
Sat 12pm
- @kirkojane.bsky.social presents "Bureaucratic Entrepreneurship w\in a Racialized Bureaucracy"
- Ananda Collins on "Talking from the Soul: The Influence of AAVE on Black Youth Political Behavior"
17/x
Sat 12pm
- @kirkojane.bsky.social presents "Bureaucratic Entrepreneurship w\in a Racialized Bureaucracy"
- Ananda Collins on "Talking from the Soul: The Influence of AAVE on Black Youth Political Behavior"
17/x
September 8, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Headed to Vancouver for #apsa2025? Check out these great panels with SU PoliSci scholars.
Sat 12pm
- @kirkojane.bsky.social presents "Bureaucratic Entrepreneurship w\in a Racialized Bureaucracy"
- Ananda Collins on "Talking from the Soul: The Influence of AAVE on Black Youth Political Behavior"
17/x
Sat 12pm
- @kirkojane.bsky.social presents "Bureaucratic Entrepreneurship w\in a Racialized Bureaucracy"
- Ananda Collins on "Talking from the Soul: The Influence of AAVE on Black Youth Political Behavior"
17/x
Never have I seen a 1-star review that made me want to go somewhere so much before
September 12, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Never have I seen a 1-star review that made me want to go somewhere so much before
I can only assume this cruise ship is here for APSA
September 10, 2025 at 5:12 PM
I can only assume this cruise ship is here for APSA
The worst of times, but also the funniest of times
September 8, 2025 at 7:19 PM
The worst of times, but also the funniest of times
Amazingly petty book title by this guy who got forced out of the FDR administration
September 5, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Amazingly petty book title by this guy who got forced out of the FDR administration
Late to getting my APSA plane tickets and hmm I dunno
August 30, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Late to getting my APSA plane tickets and hmm I dunno
I think the thing I've found a bit alienating about poli sci Bluesky is how the turn to thinking about US politics in comparative terms has led to a notion that we've figured it out now and are all on the same page analytically, when instead it should open up new debates with many possible answers.
I'm skeptical of the rising academic consensus that the US is an autocracy. Elections are still free and fair (see Iowa last night) and there's still vibrant opposition/civil society dissent.
This could change! But current reality is more akin to Guillermo O'Donnell's "delegative democracy:"
This could change! But current reality is more akin to Guillermo O'Donnell's "delegative democracy:"
August 27, 2025 at 2:54 PM
I think the thing I've found a bit alienating about poli sci Bluesky is how the turn to thinking about US politics in comparative terms has led to a notion that we've figured it out now and are all on the same page analytically, when instead it should open up new debates with many possible answers.