Political Science

Winter 2015

The lasting impact of Tom Foley

Thomas S. Foley was a political gentleman. The Speaker of the House lived and worked from principles that defined his political career: civility, honesty, and integrity. Even though he lost his seat in Congress, Foley’s legacy continues to encourage many others to follow his path, through his namesake institute at Washington State University.

No one on the reelection team was emotionally prepared for Foley’s defeat in 1994. A sitting Speaker had not been defeated since the Civil War era. John Pierce remembers Foley as “sad, stunned about the election results, but not vindictive.” Pierce had been a congressional fellow with Foley before beginning a 24-year … » More …

Winter 2015

Three portraits of Foley Institute alumni

The Foley path to public service through internships

“In a cynical age, I still believe that we must summon people to a vision of public service. For, in the end, this ethic determines more than anything else whether we will have citizens and leaders of honor, judgment, wisdom, and heart. These are the qualities this institute will nurture and advance, helping this nation become what it has always been destined to be, the best hope of a free people to live in an open and just society.”

—The Honorable Thomas S. Foley

Former LeLoup Intern, John Culton ’11 remembers the day … » More …

Fall 2015

The Pacific War and Contingent Victory: Why Japanese Defeat Was Not Inevitable

Michael W. Myers

University Press of Kansas: 2015

Conventional wisdom among scholars of World War II claims that Japan would inevitably lose the Pacific War to the United States and the Allies. They base that belief on greater American military and economic power and a U.S. strategy that forced the war against Japan on a path to unstoppable Allied victory. Myers, a professor at Washington State University’s School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public … » More …

Summer 2015

Global War and Christian Nationalism

An excerpt from American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism

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Spring 2014

Civility and Democracy in America: A Reasonable Understanding

Cornell W. Clayton and Richard Elgar

WSU Press, 2012

This collection of essays from WSU professors and other scholars takes a hard look at the historical and contemporary state of civility in the country, probing the complexities and the causes of the current “crisis.”

The articles cover not just history, but religion, architecture, ethics, philosophy, and media studies, as the writers discuss the context of incivility and heated rhetoric surrounding major issues of social movements, civil rights, immigration, and other matters long affecting American democracy.

The collection of essays emerged from a 2011 conference on civility … » More …

Summer 2013

Waiting for the Rain

In the impenetrable Dogon highlands of Mali, the storm of war is coming.

An excerpt from We Never Knew Exactly Where: Dispatches from the Lost Country of Mali

Washington State University English Professor Peter Chilson happened to be in Mali in March 2012 when a military coup ended the country’s two decades as a model democracy. Within days, the Malian army in the troublesome northern part of the country collapsed. As a result, Tuareg and Islamist fighters claimed 60 percent of the country, creating a safe haven for al Qaeda and other Islamist forces and threatening West African stability and European security.

… » More …

Winter 2012

The Ethics of Climate Change

In 2012 the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, in conjunction with the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs, began a new public symposia series that focuses on the ethical and public policy ramifications of new scientific innovations and knowledge. Each semester the symposia, which are open to the public, bring together WSU faculty with other internationally prominent scholars. The first in the series, “Ethics and Global Climate Change,” was held in April 2012, and brought to WSU’s campus Andrew Light, director of the Center for Global Ethics at George Mason University and a fellow at the Center for American … » More …

Summer 2012

Governing Washington: Politics and Government in the Evergreen State

Cornell W. Clayton and Nicholas P. Lovrich
WSU Press, 2011

Washington state has its own distinct brand of democracy, growing from the early Populist and Progressive movements of the early twentieth century. This series of essays from leading scholars, journalists, and authorities on Washington’s government and politics delves into the unique facets of the state’s leaders, voters, and laws.

Edited by WSU political science emeritus professor Nicholas Lovrich and Cornell Clayton, … » More …

Summer 2012

The Persuasive Power of Campaign Advertising

Travis N. Ridout and Michael M. Franz
Temple University Press, 2011

Another major election year has arrived and with it, the inevitable onslaught of political advertisements. Do those ads influence the way we vote, or do they just provide the background noise and distraction that build cynicism toward the modern democratic process?

Those are critical questions asked by Washington State University associate professor of political science Travis Ridout and his colleague … » More …

Summer 2012

Winning the West for Women: The Life of Suffragist of Emma Smith DeVoe

Jennifer M. Ross-Nazzal ’04 PhD
University of Washington Press, 2011

At a time when women’s rights and politics are dominating our national discourse, it would be good to consider our past. Emma Smith DeVoe’s story, for example, enhances our understanding of our nation’s Women’s Suffrage movement as well as the history of women in Washington. DeVoe led the 1910 campaign in our state—organizing, giving speeches, and raising money for the cause. … » More …