Political Science Archives - Spotlight Magazine

Q&A: Nature plays role in national security

The security of every nation faces an increasingly severe and frequent threat: disruptions to nature. According to Bradley J. Cardinale, professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management in the Penn State College of […]

Political views may influence trust in smart technologies, research finds

Consumer trust in smart technologies—like Amazon’s Alexa or Ring’s video doorbells—may rely on more than just the technology. It may also depend on a person’s political beliefs. New research from the University of New Hampshire […]

Legal categories for animals still divide—and limit—animal rights

The relationships human societies have with animals aren’t fixed, but vary according to era, culture, territory and customs.This post was originally published on this site

Only some kinds of job losses cause voters to elect strong leaders, study finds

Americans are more likely to turn to authoritarian leaders when jobs are being lost due to offshoring than they are when job losses result from automation, an international research team has found. This is despite […]

Climate finance may lower conflict risk in 85 developing countries, analysis suggests

Just as major global powers are retreating from climate finance commitments, a new empirical study provides, for the first time, evidence of a direct link between climate finance and a lower risk of resource-related conflict […]

The ‘resource curse’: Why natural resource abundance can be a double-edged sword

Natural resources—such as fossil fuels, water, and minerals—are materials found in the environment that are essential for life and highly utilized in production. Though these resources are viewed as essential to economic development and wealth, […]

Do crypto traders lack financial savvy?

Millions of Americans trade cryptocurrency, but a new study from the University of Iowa finds many of them may not be very savvy when it comes to finance, acting more like meme stock traders and […]

Rethinking energy transition participation: Why citizens are more than a box to tick

Citizen participation is widely seen as key to a successful energy transition. In practice, however, it often remains more of an ideal than a reality. In her Ph.D. research at TU/e, Nikki Kluskens shows just […]

Half of America sits in democratic limbo—and that silent middle may decide what breaks next

If you were to ask democracy scholars what they consider the greatest threat to American democracy, you might assume it is voters who support undemocratic practices or policies. But the real answer may surprise you: […]

‘Slopaganda’: How AI-generated content becomes a political weapon

An Iranian propaganda video depicts Donald Trump, Netanyahu and Satan as Lego figurines, the White House combines real footage of airstrikes with clips from films and video games, and the American president shares AI-generated videos […]