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Kumar Ramanathan

@kumar.fyi

1.9K followers 637 following 90 posts

Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois Chicago. I study the politics of law, public policy, and cities in the United States. All views are my own. Timeline may include stray 🎬/🏀 content. More at www.kumar.fyi.

Posts Replies Media

Kumar Ramanathan @kumar.fyi · 31/03/2026

New from me, @wsnead.bsky.social, & @rbayes.bsky.social! We look at who the public holds responsible for Supreme Court decisions, test frames that can change this responsibility attribution, and discuss implications for democratic accountability. Full article, no paywall: doi.org/10.1017/jlc....

Screenshot of first page of article titled "Responsibility Attribution for Supreme Court Decision-Making: Politicization, Partisanship, and Dobbs"

Abstract: "The U.S. Supreme Court’s ambiguous institutional position—insulated from external pressures yet retaining important linkages with elected officials—complicates how the public assigns responsibility for its decisions. Using a survey experiment that shows respondents information about Dobbs, we explore how messages that politicize or depoliticize the Court affect responsibility attribution for Court decisions. We find that politicizing the Court increases responsibility attribution towards President Trump, and that this effect is conditioned by party cues. We explore downstream effects on evaluations of political actors, but do not find conclusive evidence. We argue that these findings have important implications for democratic accountability."

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Kumar Ramanathan @kumar.fyi · 03/05/2025

Spotted this in a store last week

Packaging for a "tactical scrubber bundle pack"

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Kumar Ramanathan @kumar.fyi · 18/04/2025

The visualization is less appealing, but I wanted to share a similar analysis of these data that goes back further (made this for a presentation a while back). We've only had *two* instances since 1920 where a candidate won more votes than the (estimated) number of non-voters: 1964 and 2020.

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Kumar Ramanathan @kumar.fyi · 19/11/2024

This is one of the best books you can read about racial politics, political parties, and political development in the US. I found it so compelling that I wrote a whole dissertation as a response/sequel to it.

Cover of the book "Racial Realignment: The Transformation of American Liberalism, 1932-1965" by Eric Schickler

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Kumar Ramanathan @kumar.fyi · 28/10/2024

A couple of political scientists (@atrexler.com and Christopher Johnston) fielded a survey a couple of years ago that asked respondents which ideological labels they would identify with, from a long list. They found that about 30% of US adults chose "liberal". Full study here: rdcu.be/dYpLa

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Kumar Ramanathan @kumar.fyi · 04/04/2024

Hello MPSA and polisky folks! Come join our panel on the local politics of housing and municipal boundaries at 9:45am. Featuring excellent projects from @stephanieternullo.bsky.social, @joeornstein.bsky.social, and others!

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Kumar Ramanathan @kumar.fyi · 27/03/2024

@jbouie.bsky.social, I must confess that I convert your email newsletter to an RSS feed 😅

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Kumar Ramanathan @kumar.fyi · 15/02/2024

I read these two books consecutively and they really made me want to pursue it ... ironically, neither was written by a political scientist 😅

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