Lee Drutman

Opinion: Let’s make lobbyists — and anyone else wanting to influence the U.S. government — post their intentions on a public website.

Angry citizens, new research confirms, are motivated citizens. But they are not motivated to seek out new information. But anxious citizens do.

Whether it’s Osama’s death throes or Obama’s birthplace, a wealth of academic research shows that people believe today what they believed yesterday — even increasingly outlandish conspiracy theories.

A welter of tax credits, breaks and incentives help Americans out in ways they don't understand or appreciate. This ignorance could have real consequences in debates about tax reform and deficit reduction.

Voters self-identify as conservatives for several reasons, only one of which is that it reflects their politics

Earmarks are not a big deal, say political scientists. Most are perfectly justifiable, and they definitely aren't to blame for the "eruption of spending" from Washington.

Americans hoping to triangulate their votes to chart a course between the extremes of ideology find their representatives are sailing even faster to the fringes.

One system of democratic government is consistently better, say two political scientists, and it's not the one we have in the United States.

Political activists — even the angry ones, but not the daring ones — are happier than the average person.

Conservative ideas, like support for the status quo and justifications for inequality, can make the world seem like a more secure place for those who don't like uncertainty.

Two psychologists show that our concepts of morality and sin are mentally associated with lightness and darkness, with potentially troubling implications for criminal justice.

The U.S. House of Representatives has been at 435 members since 1911, when the country was a third of its current population. Research suggests that districts may now be getting too big for adequate representation.

A new book by W. Brian Arthur, a pioneer in the area of positive feedback in economics, argues that genius is overrated and technology drives its own innovations.

A group of psychologists argue that during Hurricane Katrina, those who stayed in New Orleans had a very different sense of their options than those who oversaw the evacuations or those watching from afar.

Guys wait longer to get married where women are in abundance, but get hitched sooner when females are scarcer.

The fanatical thinking that leads to militant extremism is a seductive narrative that may have a surprisingly widespread low-level resonance in the general population, finds one study.

Close to the border, local papers serve up what they think their readers want — a hefty dose of crime-laden, anti-immigrant news and views.

Prediction markets aren't just for forecasting election outcomes, argues a law professor. They actually might be quite useful for all kinds of political and business decisions.

New research suggests that as America has become more segregated by class, the power of place has exacerbated the participatory bias in American politics.

... Is in the eyes of the beholder, who, it turns out, sees what the beholder wants its eyes to see.

If politicians spoke directly to the American people, what would happen? New research suggests people might actually feel a little better about politics. But does that mean we should fire all the journalists?

The knock that Wal-Mart destroys communities is much overstated, say a pair of economics professors. Just look at the data.

Research suggests that seeing the flag doesn't make Americans feel more patriotic. But it does make them feel more nationalistic and more superior to non-Americans.

Researchers find that as people age, declining health and declining mental function don't make people any less happy. But having the right attitude seems to matter a lot.

A new study suggests that the dangers of terrorist networks have been greatly overstated.

A new study finds that both more police officers and more community building are essential in reducing crime.

The politics of the Last Frontier are a strange brew of libertarianism, moralism, privacy and a love of government handouts.

There is a long history of black Democratic candidates doing worse than pre-election polling would suggest. Two recent studies disagree on whether this problem is still with us.

In general, political science conferences tend to be staid, sober affairs.

As congressional elections become more and more expensive, a handful of wealthy ZIP codes are increasingly picking up the tab.

Democrats may be ascendant now, but don't expect permanence. One recent study gives them about 13 years in power.

The percentage of citizens contacting their members of Congress has more than doubled, but both groups view each other with 'mutual skepticism.' What should be done?

Once people hit 70, their ability to evaluate candidates declines. As the population continues to age, could this be a problem?

Two scholars say most Americans get a healthy dose of political disagreement in their lives because, like moths to a flame, they can't help themselves.

With the public sector facing a potential staffing crisis, two scholars have some basic advice for reducing turnover: help public-sector employees like and trust each other more.

Despite increasing representation in the U.S. Congress, minority representatives still lag behind their white colleagues in legislative activity — and minority-majority districts set up to increase their power may contribute to the lag.

Two political science experiments suggest that a prick of social pressure and a dash of old-fashioned Election Day partying could go a long way toward getting America voting again.