The Centennial Center is a home away from home for political scientists working in DC. Through our Visiting Scholars Program, we host scholars from the United States and abroad as they conduct research or teach in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
Located within the Association’s headquarters near Dupont Circle, the Centennial Center offers visiting scholars furnished shared workspace, a personal telephone, wifi, conference space, a small reference library, a digital resource library (including digital recording equipment for interviews), and free coffee and tea. There is no charge for a visiting scholar residency, but your APSA membership must be up-to-date.
Visiting scholars are encouraged to contribute to the intellectual life of the Association during their stay. This can include sharing their research via APSA’s blog, and brown bag presentations on their research. Visiting scholars are also offered the opportunity to contribute a summary of their research to the Center Page in PS: Political Science and Politics.
Interested in becoming a visiting scholar? Apply here. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and you can apply anywhere from one week to one year before your planned visit.
Current Visiting Scholars
Şule Yaylacı
Dr. Yaylaci examines the effect of terrorism on voting behavior, in particular the reelection chances of the incumbent party. The literature has mixed findings: Some argue that terrorist attacks cause the incumbents to lose the election while others suggest terrorism could turn individuals more towards the leader in power and increase support for the incumbent. These discrepancies bring forth questions about whether different attacks (9/11 vs. Oklahoma city bombing) may have different repercussions on voting decisions. In her project, Dr. Yaylaci will disentangle effects of domestic vs. international attacks on incumbent party support as well as the mechanisms of how these attacks cognitively or emotionally lead to change in voting decisions. Her primary case will be Turkey, which was beset by domestic and international attacks since 2015.