{"id":2378,"date":"2026-07-01T17:12:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/?page_id=2378"},"modified":"2026-09-03T13:42:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T13:42:29","slug":"about-the-speakers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/about-the-speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignfull has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile has-background\" style=\"background-color:#bad1dd;grid-template-columns:auto 40%\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-text-color\" style=\"color:#000000\"><strong>Learn about the APSA 2026 Plenary Speakers and Presenters<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/102\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2207519219-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3779 size-full\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:47px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;autoclose&quot;: false, &quot;accordionItems&quot;: [] }\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/accordion\" role=\"group\" class=\"wp-block-accordion is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-is-layout-flow\">\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-1&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right has-medium-font-size\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-1-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-1\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\"><strong><strong><strong>122nd APSA Presidential Address<\/strong>:&nbsp;<strong>The University in an Era of Democratic Erosion<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> | Thursday, September 3<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-1\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-1-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Stokes_headshot-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2595 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Stokes_headshot-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Stokes_headshot-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Stokes_headshot-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Stokes_headshot-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Stokes_headshot-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Stokes_headshot-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr. Susan Stokes<\/strong> is the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago and Director of the Chicago Center on Democracy. She has authored or coauthored six books on democratic theory, distributive politics, clientelism, political behavior, democratic erosion, and Latin American politics. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she is also President-Elect of the American Political Science Association and a founding member of Bright Line Watch. Stokes has held leadership roles in APSA and previously chaired the Yale Political Science Department. Her forthcoming book, <em>The Backsliders: Why Leaders Undermine Their Own Democracies<\/em> (2025), examines the global rise of democratic backsliding and offers strategies for resistance and institutional repair. Written for both scholars and general readers, the book combines rigorous social science methods with accessible analysis.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;autoclose&quot;: false, &quot;accordionItems&quot;: [] }\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/accordion\" role=\"group\" class=\"wp-block-accordion is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-is-layout-flow\">\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-2&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right has-medium-font-size\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-2-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-2\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\"><strong>2026 Plenary Panel:&nbsp;U.S. Democracy at 250: How It Started, How It\u2019s Going, and What We\u2019ve Learned<\/strong> | Thursday, September 3<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-2\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-2-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/09\/Fraga2-683x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3614 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/09\/Fraga2-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/09\/Fraga2-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/09\/Fraga2-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/09\/Fraga2-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/09\/Fraga2.jpeg 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Luis Ricardo Fraga<\/strong> is Professor of Political Science Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame. He previously held the positions of of the Rev. Donald P. McNeil Professor of Transformative Leadership, Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Institute for Latino Studies. He has authored, coauthored, and coedited six books and over forty articles in refereed journals and academic book chapters. He has received over twenty awards for his research, teaching, and mentoring over his career of forty-four years.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:102px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"361\" height=\"364\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-161408.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3350 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-161408.png 361w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-161408-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-161408-298x300.png 298w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 361px) 100vw, 361px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Anna Grzymala-Busse<\/strong> is the Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science, the Director of <a href=\"https:\/\/tec.fsi.stanford.edu\/\">The Europe Center<\/a>, and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, as well as a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, by courtesy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her research focuses on the historical development of the state and its transformation, political parties, religion and politics, and post-communist politics. Other areas of interest include populism, democratic erosion, informal institutions, and causal mechanisms.<br><br>She is the author of four books: <em>Redeeming the Communist Past: The Regeneration of Communist Successor Parties<\/em>; <em>Rebuilding Leviathan: Party Competition and State Development in Post-Communist Europe<\/em>; <em>Nations Under God: How Churches Use Moral Authority to Influence Politics;<\/em> and <em>Sacred Foundations: The Religious and Medieval Roots of the European State<\/em>. She is also a recipient of the <a href=\"https:\/\/carnegie.org\/andrew-carnegie-fellows\/anna-m-grzymala-busse\/\">2016 Carnegie Fellowship<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gf.org\/fellows\/anna-grzymala-busse\/\">2020 Guggenheim Fellowship<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:91px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"272\" height=\"365\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-161439.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3351 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-161439.png 272w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-161439-224x300.png 224w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 272px) 100vw, 272px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Guy-Uriel E. Charles<\/strong> is the Charles J. Ogletree Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where he also directs the Charles Hamilton Institute for Race and Justice. He writes about how law mediates political power and how law addresses racial subordination. He teaches courses on civil procedure; election law; constitutional law; race and law; critical race theory; legislation and statutory interpretation; law, economics, and politics; and law, identity, and politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He is a member of the American Academy of Arts &amp; Sciences and the American Law Institute. He was appointed by President Joseph Biden to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States. He is currently working with Luis Fuentes-Rohwer on a book, under contract with Cambridge University Press, examining the past and future of voting rights.  He is also co-editing, with Aziza Ahmed, a handbook titled Race, Racism, and the Law (forthcoming, Edward Elgar Publishing). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His academic articles have appeared in <em>Constitutional Commentary<\/em>, <em>The Michigan Law Review<\/em>, <em>The Georgetown Law Journal<\/em>, and others. He is co-author of <em>Election Law in The American Political System<\/em> (with James Gardner) and <em>Racial Justice &amp; Law: Cases and Materials<\/em> (with Ralph Richard Banks, Kim Forde-Mazrui, and Cristina Rodriguez). His public writings have appeared in the <em>New York Times<\/em>, <em>Washington Post<\/em>, <em>L.A. Times<\/em>, among many other venues. He has delivered distinguished lectures at various universities including University of California, Davis Law School and University of Richmond Law School among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Professor Charles received his JD from the University of Michigan Law School and clerked for The Honorable Damon J. Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. While at the University of Michigan, he was one of the founders and the first editor-in-chief of the <em>Michigan Journal of Race &amp; Law<\/em>. In 2006, he was awarded the distinguished teaching award at the University of Minnesota Law School. In 2016, he was awarded the distinguished teaching award at Duke Law School.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"475\" height=\"497\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-01-131203.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2380 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-01-131203.png 475w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-01-131203-287x300.png 287w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 475px) 100vw, 475px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Vesla Mae Weaver&nbsp;<\/strong>(Ph.D., Harvard, Government, and Social Policy)&nbsp;is the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Sociology at Johns Hopkins University and faculty affiliate of the Justice Collaboratory at Yale University. A scholar of American politics, she writes about race, power, and political life. Weaver has pioneered concepts to understand the role of incarceration and policing in race-class subjugated communities and the development and consequences of coercive institutions in American democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Weaver\u2019s books include&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/press.uchicago.edu\/ucp\/books\/book\/chicago\/A\/bo18008991.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arresting Citizenship<\/a>&nbsp;<\/em>and&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/books\/hardcover\/9780691152998\/creating-a-new-racial-order\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Creating a New Racial Order<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/em>Her next book<em>, The State from Below: Racial Authoritarianism in US Democracy, <\/em>amasses the&nbsp;most extensive collection of first-hand accounts of the police\u2014by those who are policed\u2014to date, using a new civic infrastructure called&nbsp;Portals. She co-directs the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/gmail.us8.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=aae68af9b08c1c4c0f4853f72&amp;id=fa9b8ae8a7&amp;e=d6ea7c45cc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">American Prison Writing Archive<\/a>, the largest and first fully searchable digital archive of imprisoned people writing about their experience inside confinement in four hundred prison and jail facilities.&nbsp;Such projects unite a concern with positioning the unfree as central theorists of democracy. Weaver\u2019s research has been supported by fellowships from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation (2017 fellow), Russell Sage Foundation, National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Brookings Institution, and owes her beginnings as a political scientist to the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She has written in the&nbsp;<em>New York Times<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Washington Post<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Boston Review<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Marshall Project<\/em>, and&nbsp;<em>Slate<\/em>, among others, and she takes an active role in public debates about what it might mean to construct public space focused on civic health rather than surveillance.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:97px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Michener_Prof-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3145 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Michener_Prof-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Michener_Prof-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Michener_Prof-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Michener_Prof.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Moderator<\/strong>:<br><strong>Jamila Michener<\/strong> is a Professor of Government and Public Policy at Cornell University, and the inaugural Director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/equitablefutures.cornell.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures<\/a>. She studies poverty, racism, and public policy, with a particular focus on health and housing.She is author of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/books\/fragmented-democracy\/9A69DF1567190EF38883D4766EBC0AAC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics<\/a><\/em> (Cambridge University Press, 2018) and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/books\/hardcover\/9780691264462\/uncivil-democracy?srsltid=AfmBOopAKhgY2aHVcr-LXOpmB6MXApDrXj3GDsuyduK5ao5bExcdUtAb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Uncivil Democracy: How Access to Justice Shapes Political Power<\/a><\/em> (Princeton University Press, 2026). She is co-editor of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/collegepublishing.sagepub.com\/products\/politics-in-the-american-states-12-262982\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis<\/a> <\/em>(Sage Publications).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:42px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;autoclose&quot;: false, &quot;accordionItems&quot;: [] }\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/accordion\" role=\"group\" class=\"wp-block-accordion is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-is-layout-flow\">\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-3&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right has-medium-font-size\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-3-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-3\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\"><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>Breaking News Panel:<\/strong> <strong>The State of the World: Democracy, Power, and Uncertainty in the Face of Simultaneous Crises<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> | Friday, September 4<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-3\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-3-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/c3b3da0c-24a7-4364-93a3-8fe280976c72-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2515 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/c3b3da0c-24a7-4364-93a3-8fe280976c72-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/c3b3da0c-24a7-4364-93a3-8fe280976c72-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/c3b3da0c-24a7-4364-93a3-8fe280976c72-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/c3b3da0c-24a7-4364-93a3-8fe280976c72-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/c3b3da0c-24a7-4364-93a3-8fe280976c72-1366x2048.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/c3b3da0c-24a7-4364-93a3-8fe280976c72-scaled.jpg 1708w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr. Hahrie Han<\/strong> is the Inaugural Director of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/snfagora.jhu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SNF Agora Institute<\/a>, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Professor of Political Science, and Faculty Director of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.p3researchlab.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">P3 Research Lab<\/a>&nbsp;at Johns Hopkins University.&nbsp;She is an award-winning author of five books and numerous scholarly articles. Her latest&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/669326\/undivided-by-hahrie-han\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">book<\/a>&nbsp;(Knopf 2024), about faith and race in America with a focus on evangelical megachurches, was named to the&nbsp;<em>New York Times<\/em>&nbsp;list of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/11\/26\/books\/notable-books.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">100 Notable Books of the Year in 2024<\/a>, and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/best-books-2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>New Yorker<\/em>&#8216;s List of Recommended Books for 2024<\/a>.&nbsp;She has also written for scholarly and public outlets ranging from the&nbsp;<em>New York Times&nbsp;<\/em>and&nbsp;the&nbsp;<em>Washington Post&nbsp;<\/em>to the&nbsp;<em>American Political Science Review (APSR)<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Nature Human Behavior,&nbsp;<\/em>andthe&nbsp;<em>Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. Han is a 2025 recipient of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.macfound.org\/fellows\/class-of-2025\/hahrie-han\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MacArthur Fellowship<\/a>&nbsp;(so called &#8220;genius grants&#8221;), is an elected member of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amacad.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS)<\/a>, was named a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.schwabfound.org\/social-innovation-thought-leader\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2022 Social Innovation Thought Leader of the Year<\/a>&nbsp;by the World Economic Forum&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.schwabfound.org\/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Schwab Foundation<\/a>, and delivered the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tanner_Lectures_on_Human_Values\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tanner Lectures<\/a>&nbsp;at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mahindrahumanities.fas.harvard.edu\/event\/tanner-lectures-hahrie-han-belonging-becoming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Harvard University in 2024<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:97px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"515\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/1865b141-60e4-42e7-aa64-18e4072e6920.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2519 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/1865b141-60e4-42e7-aa64-18e4072e6920.jpg 450w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/1865b141-60e4-42e7-aa64-18e4072e6920-262x300.jpg 262w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Peter J. Katzenstein<\/strong> is the Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies at Cornell University. Interested in all aspects of world politics, he is currently writing a book on Germany. His most recent book is <em>Entanglements in World Politics: The Power of Uncertainty<\/em> (Cambridge UP 2026). He is the author, coauthor, editor and coeditor of more than 40 books and over 100 articles or book chapters. Between 1982 and 2022 Katzenstein has served as the editor of the <em>Cornell Studies in Political Economy<\/em> which comprises 148 volumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Katzenstein received the 2026 Sakip Sabanci International Research Award. In 2020 he was named the 26th recipient of the Johan Skytte Prize. He served as President of the American Political Science Association in 2008-09, and was the recipient of APSA\u2019s&nbsp;1974 Helen Dwight Reid and its 1986 Woodrow Wilson prize. Together with Nobuo Okawara, he was awarded the 1993 Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize. He was elected to three academic societies and holds six honorary degrees. Katzenstein has been a Visiting Fellow at five different Institutes in the United States and Europe. Since 2019 he has served as a visiting Research Professor at the Social Science Center Berlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since joining the Cornell Government Department in 1973 Katzenstein has chaired or been a member of more than one hundred dissertation committees and has received the Russell Distinguished Teaching Award in 1993. In recognition of sustained and distinguished undergraduate teaching and was made one of Cornell University&#8217;s Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellows in 2004.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:106px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/20240922-204205_0019_new-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3174 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/20240922-204205_0019_new-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/20240922-204205_0019_new-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/20240922-204205_0019_new-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/20240922-204205_0019_new-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/20240922-204205_0019_new-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/20240922-204205_0019_new-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Christina Schneider<\/strong> is professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. Professor Schneider is an expert in research on the domestic politics of international cooperation, studying how international cooperation affects and is affected by democratic politics and representation. She is the author of three books published with Cambridge University Press. Her articles appear in journals including the&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/ajps.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">American Journal of Political Science<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/british-journal-of-political-science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">British Journal of Political Science<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/international-organization\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">International Organization<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/isq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">International Studies Quarterly<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/home\/jcr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Journal of Conflict Resolution<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/journals\/rjpp20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Journal of European Public Policy<\/a>,&nbsp;<\/em>and<em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/journal\/11127\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Public Choice<\/a><\/em>. Her research was awarded with several awards, including the Best Book of 2019 and 2020 Award by the&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/epsanet.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">European Political Studies Association<\/a>&nbsp;and the Jack Walker Article Award for the best article published in 2024 and 2025 from the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/s5\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">APSA Political Organizations and Parties Section<\/a>. More details are available on her webpage:&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/pages.ucsd.edu\/~cjschneider\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">http:\/\/pages.ucsd.edu\/~cjschneider\/index.htm<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:106px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"375\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/09\/2018_08_21-Yale-Ian-Shapiro-box-8x10_Lavitt-300x375-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3604 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/09\/2018_08_21-Yale-Ian-Shapiro-box-8x10_Lavitt-300x375-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/09\/2018_08_21-Yale-Ian-Shapiro-box-8x10_Lavitt-300x375-1-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ian Shapiro<\/strong> is the Sterling Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs at Yale University. He has written widely and influentially on democracy, justice, and the methods of social inquiry. A native of South Africa, he received his J.D. from the Yale Law School and his Ph.D. from the Yale Political Science Department where he has taught since 1984 and served as chair from 1999 to 2004. Shapiro served as Director of the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies from 2004-2019. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a past fellow of the Carnegie Corporation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He has held visiting appointments at the University of Cape Town, Keio University in Tokyo, Nuffield College, Oxford, Sciences Po in Paris, and the London School of Economics. His most recent books are Uncommon Sense (Yale University Press, 2024) and After the Fall: From the End of History to the Crisis of Democracy, How Politicians Broke our World (Basic Books, 2026). His current research concerns the relations between democracy and the distribution of income, wealth, and risk.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:108px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"241\" height=\"232\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-163456.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3361 size-full\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Moderator<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr. Ellen Lust<\/strong> is the founder and director of the Governance and Local Development Institute at Yale University (est. 2013), the University of Gothenburg (est. 2015), and Cornell University (est. 2024). She is also a Professor of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg, a Professor of in the Department of Government at Cornell University, and a Senior Fellow at Alternative Policy Solutions at the American University in Cairo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her research examines the role of social institutions and local authorities in governance, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. She has conducted fieldwork and implemented surveys in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, and Zambia. She has also served as an advisor and consultant to organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations Development Fund, and USAID. The Carnegie Corporation of New York, National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Swedish Research Council, and Hicham Alaoui Foundation have supported her work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She has authored numerous books, textbooks, and articles. Her most recent book, <a href=\"https:\/\/gld.gu.se\/en\/news\/new-book-explores-decentralization-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa\"><em>Decentralization, Local Governance, and Inequality in the Middle East and North Africa<\/em><\/a> (co-edited with Kristen Kao), was published by the University of Michigan Press in January 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:42px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;autoclose&quot;: false, &quot;accordionItems&quot;: [] }\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/accordion\" role=\"group\" class=\"wp-block-accordion is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-is-layout-flow\">\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-4&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right has-medium-font-size\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-4-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-4\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\"><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong><strong>Breaking News Panel:<\/strong> <strong>Academic Freedom in Fraught Times: Why We Need It and How We Can Fight for It<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> | Friday, September 4<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-4\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-4-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"237\" height=\"298\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-163522.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3362 size-full\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr. Leonardo Arriola<\/strong> is a professor of political science and dean of the School of Social Sciences, Humanities &amp; Arts at the University of California, Merced. His research examines democratization with a focus on political representation and competition in Africa. His book,&nbsp;<em>Multiethnic Coalitions in Africa: Business Financing of Opposition Election Campaigns<\/em>&nbsp;(Cambridge University Press, 2012), won the Best Book Award from APSA&#8217;s African Politics Section and received an honorable mention for APSA&#8217;s Gregory Luebbert Prize. He is also co-editor of&nbsp;<em>Women and Power in Africa: Aspiring, Campaigning, and Governing<\/em>&nbsp;(Oxford University Press, 2021) and&nbsp;<em>Democratic Backsliding in Africa: Autocratization, Resilience, and Contention<\/em>&nbsp;(Oxford University Press, 2023). His research has appeared in the&nbsp;<em>American Political Science Review<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>American Journal of Political Science<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>Journal of Politics<\/em>, and&nbsp;<em>Comparative Political Studies<\/em>. He is the recipient of the 2026 G. Bingham Powell Graduate Mentoring Award from APSA&#8217;s Comparative Politics Section. He is President-Elect of the African Studies Association.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:101px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"652\" height=\"589\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-20-141920.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2650 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-20-141920.png 652w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Screenshot-2026-07-20-141920-300x271.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 652px) 100vw, 652px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr. Kirsten Weld<\/strong> is a professor of Latin American history at Harvard University whose research explores 20<sup>th<\/sup>-century struggles over inequality, justice, and historical memory. Her first book<em>, Paper Cadavers: The Archives of Dictatorship in Guatemala&nbsp;<\/em>(Duke University Press, 2014), won the 2015&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/library.duke.edu\/rubenstein\/human-rights\/book-award\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WOLA-Duke Human Rights Book Award<\/a>&nbsp;and the 2016&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sections.lasaweb.org\/sections\/historia-reciente-memoria\/?pg=5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Best Book Award<\/a>&nbsp;from the Latin American Studies Association\u2019s (LASA)&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/sections.lasaweb.org\/sections\/historia-reciente-memoria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Recent History and Memory Section<\/a>. Her second book,&nbsp;<em>Ruins and Glory: The Long Spanish Civil War in Latin America<\/em>, is forthcoming from Harvard University Press in 2028. She is co-president of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aaup-hfc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Harvard University chapter<\/a>&nbsp;of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:109px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"297\" height=\"376\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-163545.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3363 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-163545.png 297w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-163545-237x300.png 237w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 297px) 100vw, 297px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr. David C. Wilson<\/strong> is Dean of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy and Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Professor Wilson is a political psychologist specializing in the use of survey-based experiments to study political behavior and policy preferences. His scholarship focuses on the psychology of political opinion about policies, contentious social issues, and political figures. He is drawn to investigate justice-related biases in political preferences created by judgements of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wilson\u2019s research examines how individuals formulate their political preferences about race and justice, and how social cognition shapes broader survey response behaviors. His research is published widely in areas of inquiry that include the application of double standards in evaluating racial groups and related policy issues, attitudes toward voter identification laws and electoral malfeasance, blame attributions toward elected leaders and political groups, and how diversity culture and climate affect organizational employee engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He is the author of 2022 book,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/press.uchicago.edu\/ucp\/books\/book\/chicago\/R\/bo124039550.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Racial Resentment in the Political Mind<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;(University of Chicago Press), and his scholarship can be found in a variety of research outlets, including <em>Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Behavior, Du Bois Review, Psychological Sciences<\/em>, and <em>Journal of Applied Psychology<\/em>. In 2022, he co-edited&nbsp;<em>Public Opinion Quarterly<\/em>&#8216;s special issue on &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/poq\/article\/86\/S1\/433\/6633330\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Race, Justice, and Public Opinion<\/em><\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prior to UC Berkeley, Dean Wilson served as a Senior Associate Dean of the College of Arts &amp; Sciences and Associate Dean of the Social Sciences at the University of Delaware, and was a statistical researcher at the Gallup Polling Organization in Washington, D.C. He is also a military veteran with 19 years of service to the US Army Reserves, including tours for Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:118px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Michener_Prof-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3145 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Michener_Prof-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Michener_Prof-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Michener_Prof-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/Michener_Prof.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Moderator<\/strong>:<br><strong>Jamila Michener<\/strong> is a Professor of Government and Public Policy at Cornell University, and the inaugural Director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/equitablefutures.cornell.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Racial Justice and Equitable Futures<\/a>. She studies poverty, racism, and public policy, with a particular focus on health and housing.She is author of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/books\/fragmented-democracy\/9A69DF1567190EF38883D4766EBC0AAC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics<\/a><\/em> (Cambridge University Press, 2018) and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/books\/hardcover\/9780691264462\/uncivil-democracy?srsltid=AfmBOopAKhgY2aHVcr-LXOpmB6MXApDrXj3GDsuyduK5ao5bExcdUtAb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Uncivil Democracy: How Access to Justice Shapes Political Power<\/a><\/em> (Princeton University Press, 2026). She is co-editor of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/collegepublishing.sagepub.com\/products\/politics-in-the-american-states-12-262982\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politics in the American States: A Comparative Analysis<\/a> <\/em>(Sage Publications).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:42px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;autoclose&quot;: false, &quot;accordionItems&quot;: [] }\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/accordion\" role=\"group\" class=\"wp-block-accordion is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-is-layout-flow\">\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-5&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right has-medium-font-size\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-5-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-5\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\"><strong><strong><strong><strong>Breaking News Panel:<\/strong> <strong>Political Science in a Backsliding World: How Can Scholars Help Protect Democracy?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> | Saturday, September 5<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-5\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-5-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"330\" height=\"324\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-162442.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3354 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-162442.png 330w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-162442-300x295.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 330px) 100vw, 330px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ambassador Norman Eisen<\/strong> (ret.) is a senior fellow in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/programs\/governance-studies\/\">Governance Studies<\/a>&nbsp;at the Brookings Institution and is widely recognized as one of our nation\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/presswatchers.org\/2022\/01\/whats-in-the-election-bills-reporters-dont-care-and-wont-tell-you\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">good-government giants<\/a>.\u201d He is an attorney who has served in senior roles in the White House, as a diplomat abroad, and led a presidential impeachment in Congress. His Brookings scholarship includes six books and over 300 other published works about rule of law and democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From 2009 to 2011, Eisen was special counsel and special assistant to President Barack Obama for ethics and government reform. He also advised the president on lobbying regulation, campaign finance law, and open government issues, helping to assure the most&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/09\/opinion\/i-miss-barack-obama.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">scandal-free<\/a>&nbsp;White House in modern history. After his White House role, Eisen&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/lifestyle\/style\/2013\/10\/14\/3388f996-26f3-11e3-ad0d-b7c8d2a594b9_story.html?utm_term=.38247f3716bf&amp;_=ddid-2-1583257440\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">served<\/a>&nbsp;as the U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2014. Eisen also helped advance U.S.-Czech security and defense initiatives, as well as deepening economic ties between the two nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From 2019 to 2020, Eisen served as the special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee for the impeachment and trial of President Trump. His book about his service in this role, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0593238435\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>A Case for the American People: The United States v. Donald J. Trump<\/em><\/a>\u201d (Crown 2020), was praised as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/07\/22\/us\/politics\/trump-impeachment.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tantalizing<\/a>\u201d (New York Times). Eisen is also the author of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/539841\/the-last-palace-by-norman-eisen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Last Palace: Europe\u2019s Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House<\/em><\/a>\u201d (Crown 2018) and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cornellpress.cornell.edu\/book\/9781501770081\/states-united\/#bookTabs=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>States United: A Survival Guide for Our Democracy<\/em><\/a>\u201d (Cornell University Press 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Brookings, Eisen is the lead author of the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/democracy-playbook-2025\/\">Democracy Playbook 2025<\/a>,\u201d offering a roadmap backed by social science for countries to prevent and reverse democratic backsliding, and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/the-anatomy-of-illiberal-states\/\">The Anatomy of Illiberal States,<\/a>\u201d analyzing tactics for identifying and combatting autocracy. He is the current chair of Brookings&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/projects\/anti-corruption-democracy-and-security\/\">Anti-Corruption, Democracy, and Security (ACDS)<\/a>&nbsp;project, a multi-year initiative focused on tackling corruption to promote democracy and security on a global scale. Eisen also co-chairs the Transatlantic Democracy Working Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was named in the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/interactives\/2017\/politico50\/norm-eisen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Politico 50<\/a>&nbsp;list of thinkers shaping American politics and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/forward.com\/series\/forward-50\/2017\/norman-eisen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forward 50<\/a>&nbsp;list of American Jews. His writing has appeared in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/15\/opinion\/trump-indictment-georgia-fani-willis.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a><em>,&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/people\/norman-eisen\/?utm_term=.29d6fe0d2d34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Washington Post<\/em><\/a><em>,&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/author\/norman-eisen-ncpn1292951\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>MSNBC<\/em><\/a><em>&nbsp;<\/em> and many other publications in the United States and internationally. He is the co-founder of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/contrarian.substack.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Contrarian<\/a>, a new media venture dedicated to publishing independent coverage of pro-democracy topics. He is the co-founder and executive chair of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/statedemocracydefenders.org\/fund\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democracy Defenders Fund<\/a>, a co-founder and board member of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/statedemocracydefenders.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democracy Defenders Action,<\/a>&nbsp;the founder and former chair of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington<\/a>, and the founder and former chair of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/statesuniteddemocracy.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">States United Democracy Center<\/a>. Eisen was&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/reliable-source\/wp\/2015\/01\/13\/how-a-u-s-ambassador-helped-inspire-grand-budapest-hotel\/?utm_term=.bfb87fd93e75\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">credited<\/a>&nbsp;by director Wes Anderson as an inspiration for the character of the crusading lawyer Deputy Kovacs in the 2014 film \u201cThe Grand Budapest Hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:114px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"731\" height=\"1024\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/b183213a-d793-40b8-9309-7f2061606fb4-731x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2517 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/b183213a-d793-40b8-9309-7f2061606fb4-731x1024.jpg 731w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/b183213a-d793-40b8-9309-7f2061606fb4-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/b183213a-d793-40b8-9309-7f2061606fb4-768x1075.jpg 768w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/b183213a-d793-40b8-9309-7f2061606fb4-1097x1536.jpg 1097w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/b183213a-d793-40b8-9309-7f2061606fb4-1463x2048.jpg 1463w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/b183213a-d793-40b8-9309-7f2061606fb4.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 731px) 100vw, 731px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr.&nbsp;Jennifer McCoy&nbsp;<\/strong>is Regent\u2019s Professor Emerita of Political Science at Georgia State University in Atlanta and Nonresident Scholar at the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carnegieendowment.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Carnegie Endowment for International Peace<\/a>, as well as&nbsp;a&nbsp;Research Affiliate at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/democracyinstitute.ceu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CEU\u2019s Democracy Institute<\/a>&nbsp;in Budapest.&nbsp;Her areas of expertise include democratic resilience;&nbsp;erosion and recovery; and political polarization and depolarization. She&nbsp;previously served as&nbsp;Director of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cartercenter.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Carter Center\u2019s<\/a>&nbsp;Americas Program (1998-2015).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dr. McCoy was named a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carnegie.org\/andrew-carnegie-fellows\/jennifer-mccoy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024-26 Andrew Carnegie Fellow<\/a>&nbsp;for her project, \u201c<em>Mitigating Pernicious Polarization through Innovative Civic Educational Interventions<\/em>.\u201d&nbsp;Her forthcoming book is&nbsp;<em>How to Depolarize: Remaking Global Democracies,<\/em>&nbsp;with Murat Somer (Princeton University Press, 2027). Her most&nbsp;recent&nbsp;volume is&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aapss.org\/annals\/volumes\/681\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Polarizing Polities: A Global Threat to Democracy<\/a>,&nbsp;<\/em>co-edited with M. Somer (<em>The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science<\/em>,&nbsp;2019).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:103px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"390\" height=\"271\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-162901.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3356 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-162901.png 390w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-162901-300x208.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>K. Sabeel Rahman<\/strong> is a Professor of Law at Cornell Law School. His academic research focuses on issues of democracy, governance, economic power, inequality, and racial justice. He works extensively with a range of think tanks, advocacy organizations, and foundations to develop novel approaches to address these issues in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From 2021-2023, he served in the Biden-Harris Administration, including as the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). At OIRA, he oversaw the policy review and approval of all significant federal regulations and played a lead role in the Administration\u2019s efforts on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/equity\/\">equity<\/a>, data and information policy, and reforming regulatory analysis. From 2018-2021, he served as President of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.demos.org\/\">Demos<\/a>, a national racial justice think tank and advocacy organization that played a key role in combatting voter suppression and developing and mainstreaming major policy ideas from climate justice to student debt relief to energy democracy. He also co-founded the <a href=\"https:\/\/lpeproject.org\/\">Law and Political Economy Project<\/a>, and currently serves as a Board Member for the <a href=\"https:\/\/lawandpoliticaleconomy.org\/\">Association for Law and Political Economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He is the author of several books including <a href=\"https:\/\/globalreports.columbia.edu\/books\/remaking-the-state\"><em>Remaking the State: A New Blueprint for American Democracy<\/em><\/a> (Columbia Global Reports); <a href=\"https:\/\/global.oup.com\/academic\/product\/democracy-against-domination-9780190911089?lang=en&amp;cc=us\"><em>Democracy Against Domination<\/em><\/a> (Oxford University Press), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/books\/civic-power\/61A14335583D6DB3FCD03F7DAE18BD9E\"><em>Civic Power<\/em><\/a> (with Hollie Russon Gillman, Cambridge University Press); and <em>The Next Reconstruction<\/em> (The New Press, forthcoming). His popular writings have appeared in venues like <em>The Atlantic, The New Republic, The Boston Review, Dissent<\/em>, and <em>The Washington Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:108px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-top\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/68672d43-97e4-4348-8fbd-97f4e1fb6a71-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2807 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/68672d43-97e4-4348-8fbd-97f4e1fb6a71-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/68672d43-97e4-4348-8fbd-97f4e1fb6a71-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/68672d43-97e4-4348-8fbd-97f4e1fb6a71-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/68672d43-97e4-4348-8fbd-97f4e1fb6a71-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/07\/68672d43-97e4-4348-8fbd-97f4e1fb6a71.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A progressive organizer, scholar and strategist, <strong>Dorian Warren <\/strong>has worked to advance racial, economic,&nbsp;and social justice for&nbsp;over&nbsp;three decades. Like the organizations he leads, Warren is driven by the innate conviction that only social movements \u2013 led by the people most affected by racial, economic, gender,&nbsp;and social injustice \u2013 can change their communities and public policies for the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dorian is co-president of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.communitychange.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Community Change<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 an organization founded in 1968 by civil rights, labor,&nbsp;and community leaders to honor the memory of Robert F. Kennedy&#8217;s fight to end poverty in America \u2013 and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.communitychangeaction.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Community Change Action<\/a>, its political arm. He is also the co-founder of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/economicsecurityproject.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Economic Security Project<\/a>, an innovative social impact organization that has already shifted the national conversation around cash, economic power, and economic security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Warren taught for over a decade at the University of Chicago and Columbia University, where he was co-director of the Columbia University Program on Labor Law and Policy. He&#8217;s the co-author of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/books\/hidden-rules-of-race\/33D38E05DCD5B288BBC4090CC900A967\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Hidden Rules of Race<\/em><\/a>, co-editor of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Race-and-American-Political-Development\/Lowndes-Novkov-Warren\/p\/book\/9780415961530\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Race and American Political Development<\/em><\/a>, and has penned numerous academic articles. He also worked at MSNBC, where he was a contributor and a fill-in host for&nbsp;<em>Melissa Harris-Perry&nbsp;<\/em>and&nbsp;<em>Now with Alex Wagner<\/em>, as well as the host and co-executive producer of&nbsp;<em>Nerding Out<\/em>&nbsp;on MSNBC\u2019s digital platform (now Peacock).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dorian also co-hosted the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/content\/system-check\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">System Check<\/a>\u201d podcast at&nbsp;<em>The Nation<\/em>&nbsp;and the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wnycstudios.org\/podcasts\/takeaway\/deep-dive-dorian-warren\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Deep Dive<\/a>\u201d podcast on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wnycstudios.org\/podcasts\/takeaway\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Takeaway<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;with Melissa Harris-Perry. He was previously a Fellow at the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/rooseveltinstitute.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Roosevelt Institute<\/a>&nbsp;and serves on the boards of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/civilrights.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Education Fund<\/a>, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanprogressaction.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for American Progress (CAP) Action Fund<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/economicsecurityproject.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Economic Security Project<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/assetsundermovement.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Assets Under Movement<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>The Nation<\/em>&nbsp;Magazine Editorial Board<\/a>, among others. He is also part of the Advisory Circle for Rx Kids.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:106px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"281\" height=\"285\" fetchpriority=\"low\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/112\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-20-163224.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3357 size-full\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Moderator<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dr. Laura Gamboa<\/strong> is associate professor of democracy and global affairs in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame and a core-affiliated faculty member of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/kellogg.nd.edu\/\">Kellogg Institute<\/a>. Gamboa\u2019s research is centered on questions related to the survival and quality of democratic systems, focusing on institutions, regime and regime change in Latin America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her book, <em>Resisting Backsliding: Opposition Strategies against the Erosion of Democracy<\/em>&nbsp;(Cambridge University Press, 2022), analyzes how opposition strategic choices and goals can decisively affect the ability of potential autocrats to erode democracy. Her second book (co-authored), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/elements\/abs\/new-forms-of-democratic-erosion-in-latin-america\/58B1338E0EA78612B2A61F8CD46D6479\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>New Forms of Democratic Erosion in Latin America<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;(CUP Elements 2026), elaborates a framework to analyze processes of democratic backsliding in El Salvador, M\u00e9xico, Per\u00fa, Guatemala, and Honduras, and discuss what pro-democratic movements can do to counteract&nbsp;them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her current research focuses on the drivers behind these tactical choices as well as opposition strategies to counteract subnational democratic backsliding. Her work has been published in <em>Comparative Politics, Democratization, Political Research Quarterly, Electoral Studies<\/em>, the <em>Latin American Research Review<\/em>, and the&nbsp;<em>Journal of Democracy<\/em>, among other journals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gamboa has received important fellowships and awards such as Notre Dame\u2019s Eli J. And Helen Shaheen Award in Social Science, University of Utah\u2019s 2024 CSBS Superior Research Award, and the Harvard University DRCLAS Santo Domingo visiting fellowship. Her book received the Latin American Studies Association\u2019s 2022 Donna Lee Van Cott Award for best book in political institutions and an honorary mention for the American Political Science Association\u2019s 2023 Luebbert Book Award for best book in comparative politics.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:42px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn about the APSA 2026 Plenary Speakers and Presenters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25307,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2378","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25307"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2378\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/connect.apsanet.org\/apsa2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}