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PODCAST

New Books in Political Science

New Books Network

This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox:

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All Episodes

00:49:35

William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe, "Trajectory of...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/09/10

Political Scientists William Howell and Terry Moe have a new book out that explores how the United States constitutional system has given way to the establishment of a kind of strongman presidency, disconnected in many ways from the constraints designed to keep the American president from becoming autocratic or dictatorial. Trajectory of Power: The Rise of the Strongman Presidency(Princeton UP, 2025)traces the expansion of the administrative state in the United States, which transpired during much

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53:20

William G. Howell and Terry M. Moe, "Trajectory of...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/09/10

Political Scientists William Howell and Terry Moe have a new book out that explores how the United States constitutional system has given way to the establishment of a kind of strongman presidency, disconnected in many ways from the constraints designed to keep the American president from becoming autocratic or dictatorial.Trajectory of Power: The Rise of the Strongman Presidency(Princeton UP, 2025)traces the expansion of the administrative state in the United States, which transpired during much of

en

42:17

Voices from North Korea: Refugees Tell Their Stories

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/09/08

n this podcast, North Korean refugees who visited the University of Bradford share their harrowing experiences of life in North Korea, escape, and the challenges of building new lives in freedom. They are supported by Freedom Speakers International (FSI), a Seoul-based non-profit that helps North Korean refugees rebuild their lives through personalised English education, mentoring and public-speaking opportunities. Crucially, FSI enables refugees to tell their own stories in their own voices.Their

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41:24

Meghan Garrity, "Mass Expulsion: The Politics of...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/09/05

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, governments around the world have expelled, en masse, more than 30 million people. Yet despite its prevalence, mass expulsion remains an understudied phenomenon as scholarly attention has been directed toward the gravest atrocities—genocide and mass killing—or toward forced migration more broadly.Mass Expulsion: The Politics of Forced Population Removal(Oxford UP, 2026) by Dr. Meghan Garrity examines why and how governments expel, providing a

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24:23

Robert Shum, "Democracy or Carbon Oligarchy?: Climate...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/09/05

Democracy or Carbon Oligarchy?: Climate and Energy Politics between Crisis and Decarbonization(Palgrave Macmillan, 2026)tackles a critical question. Why has the world struggled so much to coordinate policy to address climate change, despite political and scientific consensus? Despite landmark agreements and expanding knowledge, emissions have fallen unevenly and progress has repeatedly stalled or reversed. Democracy or Carbon Oligarchy? explains that failure by focusing on domestic politics: how

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51:47

Jieun Baek, "Privileged But Powerless: How North...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/09/04

What do the people closest to power really think about the system they serve? That’s perhaps one of the most important questions one could ask about North Korea, still one of the world’s least understood countries.Today, we’re joined by Jieun Baek, author ofPrivileged But Powerless: How North Korean Elite Grievances Reveal the Regime’s Greatest Weakness(Yale UP, 2026).She draws on in-depth interviews with North Korean elite escapees—from senior party cadres and diplomats to military officers and

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32:20

Nikhil Kalyanpur, "Legal Weapons of the Wealthy: The...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/09/04

In Legal Weapons of the Wealthy: The Offshoring of Elite Conflict in Emerging Markets (Cornell University Press, 2026), Dr. Nikhil Kalyanpur examines a striking feature of today's global legal order: the use of foreign courts by elites to settle domestic disputes. On the surface, the "outsourcing" of disputes by elites from countries with fragile judiciaries looks like a search for fair treatment unavailable at home. Yet extraterritorial dispute resolution varies across such countries. Russian

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62:24

Michael Diniscia and Ellyn M Toscano eds. "Civility...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/09/03

The idea of civility goes back to classical Rome and the ways in which citizens engaged one another within the republic. The term itself is often used in a number of different ways, reflecting expected behavior, particularly in public spaces, and as a mechanism to manage human interaction. But civility and the use of this idea often shape hierarchical relationships within society and within politics and may define who is to be included within the polis and who may be excluded. Thus, the

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61:52

Jonathan Quong, "Political Philosophy: The Puzzle of...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/09/03

Can laws be unjust and yet remain, in some sense, morally legitimate? InPolitical Philosophy: The Puzzle of Legitimate Injustice(Princeton UP, 2026), Jonathan Quong considers central issues in political philosophy through the lens of this single question. He explores and evaluates recent influential work on this topic and then proposes a novel approach of his own. The puzzle at the heart of his account is the phenomenon of legitimate injustice—laws and policies that are substantively unjust yet may

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62:04

The Political Philosophy of Mark Twain: On His...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/09/02

While many know that Mark Twain created some of the most famous characters in literature—Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Jim and Puddn’head Wilson—too few have understood that the Missouri author wasn’t only America’s greatest humorist, but also one of its most subtle political thinkers. But what was the political philosophy of the elusive and ironic Mark Twain for his new democratic America?To help answer that question, as we continue Season 6, I have as our guest Ivan Kenneally. A contributor

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72:34

Richard Ned Lebow, "Why Nations Still Fight"...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/08/30

Drawing on an original data set of interventions and wars from 1945 to the current day, as well as numerous short case studies, Richard Ned Lebow offers a novel account of their origins and outcomes - one that emphasises miscalculation, failure to conduct meaningful risk assessments, and cultural and political arrogance.A successive work to Why Nations Fight (2010), in this bookWhy Nations Still Fight(Cambridge UP, 2026)he explains why initiators routinely lose militarily and politically when

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60:35

Catherine Reyes-Housholder, "How Women Win...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/08/28

Between 1990 and 2020, women candidates won only 6% of the world’s presidential races. How Women Win Presidential Elections in Latin America (Temple University Press, 2026) explains the factors, strategies, and perceptions that help (or hinder) women to democratically access their country’s highest political office. Dr. Catherine Reyes-Housholder introduces a theory of gendered incentives and perceived potential to reveal why a political party would break with tradition and nominate a woman. She

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56:54

Srirupa Roy, "The Political Outsider: Indian...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/08/28

Defying the dire predictions that attended its birth as an independent nation-state in 1947, the Indian republic is more than seventy-five years old. And yet, it is a place where criticisms of actually existing democracy are intense and strident. In recent years, the trope of victimized people suffering at the hands of a predatory elite and political dysfunction has reaped rewards. The populist language of redemptive outsiders pledging to combat a corrupt system has been harnessed in

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50:51

Paul Johnson, "Challenging Inequalities: How We Got...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/08/26

There is a widespread sense throughout the developed world that progress towards a better society has stalled. Many countries, including the UK, have experienced persistent economic stagnation accompanied by declining trust in institutions. Governments are struggling to respond not only to traditional economic problems but also to newer challenges posed by climate change, migration and technological change. Challenging Inequalities: How We Got Stuck and Where We Go Next(Princeton University

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53:00

After Putin: A Discussion with Political Scientist...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/08/25

Russian leader Vladimir Putin, at 73 years old, is still very much alive, yet the “After Putin” conversation is an active one inside and outside of Russia. Whatcouldcome next and how to think about that question? My guest is Julian G. Waller, a political scientist at George Washington University and author of a recentForeign Affairsarticle “After Putin: Russia’s Coming Succession Crisis.” In our discussion, Waller anchors the “After Putin” question in historical context, as to how succession played

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39:48

Edward Goldring, "Purges: How Dictators Fight to...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/08/24

Purges: How Dictators Fight to Survive (Cornell University Press, 2026) by Dr. Edward Goldring delves into one of the key tactics that autocrats deploy to maintain power: the removal of individuals from within the regime. From Kim Jong Un's execution of his uncle to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's removal of over a hundred Turkish generals, purges bear significant consequences for the survival and endurance of autocrats. Yet much remains unknown about why dictators use purges and whether they

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64:48

Mark Leonard, "Surviving Chaos: Geopolitics When the...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/08/22

"Expansive visions. Universal institutions. Ideas of progress. Itwas on the back of these that the West surged ahead and built a global order. I was born into that world. But my children have entered a world of Un-order." We live in an explosive world. Trump is blowing up political order. Xi Jinping is scrambling the economy. And Putin is redrawing the map of Europe. At a time when every crisis bleeds into the next — from pandemics and wars to climate shocks and AI revolutions — the old

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49:02

Seth Masket, "The Elephants in the Room: How Trump...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/08/20

Political Scientist Seth Masket’s new book,The Elephants in the Room: How Trump Voters Seized the Party from Republican Leaders(Cambridge UP, 2026)is acompanion book to his earlier work,Learning from Loss: The Democrats, 2016-2020(Cambridge University Press, 2020). In researching both these works, Masket spends time with party leaders throughout the United States, discussing the loss at the presidential level (for Democrats in 2016, for Republicans in 2020) and seeking to understand what the

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69:24

Deborah Mayersen, "Genocide Prevention: An...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/08/18

There has never been a more promising time for genocide prevention. More resources and research are being focused on prevention than ever before. Yet we still lack vital knowledge as to the most effective ways to stabilise and reduce the risk of genocide in current at-risk societies.Genocide Prevention: An Evidence-Based Approach(Cambridge UP, 2026)offers a compelling new approach: to understand how to prevent genocide, we need to examine societies in which genocide has been prevented. It is in

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62:20

Elizabeth Tynan, "Nuclear Archipelago: Secrets, Power...

New Books in Political Science ·

2026/08/16

Nuclear Archipelago: Secrets, Power and the Biggest Atomic Blast in Australia(NewSouth, 2026)tells the shocking story of the two British atomic weapons test series held at Western Australia's Monte Bello Islands in 1952 and 1956. Operation Hurricane and Operation Mosaic took place at a rugged archipelago 100 kilometres off the Pilbara coast, and each of the three bombs sent fallout over vast distances across the country. One of the tests, Mosaic G2 in June 1956, the largest nuclear weapon

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925 results

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