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Zack Albert

@zalbert.bsky.social
231 followers 316 following 59 posts

Polisci prof. @ Brandeis U. Research on parties and polarization and elections. Glad there’s finally hockey here. Go Leafs Go!

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Reposted by Zack Albert
Ray La Raja @raylaraja.bsky.social · 10h
A few thoughts about what @zalbert.bsky.social and I learned about small donors in US elections, and why more small donor participation isn’t necessarily the democratic cure many hoped it would be. Insights from our book, Small Donors in U.S. Politics: Myth and Reality.
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New at @scholars.org: How to Design Small Donor Reform That Works. Based on research with @raylaraja.bsky.social. Small donor reform ideas are all around -- but they need to be designed responsibly to avoid making representational problems worse! scholars.org/contribution...
scholars.org
How to Design Small Donor Reform that Works
Americans are intensely concerned about the role of money in politics. The dominance of “big money” from wealthy donors and skyrocketing outside spending raises fears that political representation is ...
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
When a student is right but for the wrong reasons...
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Reposted by Zack Albert
Ray La Raja @raylaraja.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
A realist perspective on small donors in US Politics from me and @zalbert.bsky.social podcast interview by @mattgrossmann.bsky.social @niskanencenter.bsky.social www.niskanencenter.org/the-rise-of-...
niskanencenter.org
The rise of small donors is mostly making politics worse - Niskanen Center
Ray La Raja and Zach Albert find that small donors are just as advantaged, partisan, and extreme as larger donors.
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Shamira Gelbman @shamiragelbman.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Now out in @igajournal.bsky.social: my review of 2 recent books -- 📖 @ejfagan.com's The Thinkers (Oxford UP, 2024) 📖 @zalbert.bsky.social's Partisan Policy Networks (Penn, 2025) Read the review here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Think tanks' role in polarization politics - Interest Groups & Advocacy
Interest Groups & Advocacy -
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Really excited to have this book in print. Thread on what we found when we studied small donors in American elections — much of which challenges popular understandings
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Looks like you can add “multiple journalists arrested” to this awful list
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
I hope you'll check out the full piece, and if you're interested to you can read more about the book here: www.pennpress.org/978151282802...
pennpress.org
Partisan Policy Networks – Penn Press
How elected officials, think tanks, and interest groups form partisan policy networks to advance their agendasPartisan Policy Networks explores how policy re...
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
This poses problems for polarization, representation, and governance. Through their subsidies, ideologically and narrowly motivated PROs (re)enforce polarized views, move policy toward their own ends, and prevent cross-party dialogue and compromise.
While the historical view of policy research as “above politics” was never fully accurate, what we have today is profoundly different. Partisanship increasingly structures the production and dissemination of information. Research organizations are active participants in partisan battles. And stable partisan networks, built on direct collaborations and partisan reputations, structure most modern policymaking.

These developments pose significant problems for American democracy. Partisan policy networks displace sound research in favor of partisan-motivated ideas, undermining responsible policymaking. They also move policy toward their own, often ideologically extreme preferences, biasing representation. And they prohibit dialogue and compromise between the two parties. In a system that often requires bipartisanship, partisan dynamics produce gridlock and incentivize unilateral presidential action.
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
First, the main takeaway: many policy research organizations (PROs) today are partisan policy demanders who subsidize the policymaking efforts of their partisan allies, not only thru their research but also direct political advocacy. See, for example, Heritage and CAP.
In a Nutshell: This book examines how many policy research organizations, like think tanks, have transformed from non-partisan information producers into partisan allies pursuing ideological policy goals. Most policymaking today is structured by “partisan policy networks” united by shared goals and mutual trust – and producing policy that is often poorly informed and unrepresentative of what the mass public wants.
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Really glad to get to publish this overview of my new book (Partisan Policy Networks) with Roro Toko. Including some excerpts below. www.rorotoko.com/11/20251106-...
rorotoko.com
RORO
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Bold strategy to tell everyone to pay attention to the rallies specifically designed to draw attention to your party’s unpopular abuses of power.
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Probably not exactly what you’re after, but on voteview you can search by member name and see which ideological bin they fall into relative to party/chamber. My students had fun with it yesterday.
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Really cool feeling to open a box of your own book! For sale starting august 26. www.pennpress.org/978151282802...
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
I’m just a simple guy begging Google Docs to not log me out when I’m in the middle of typing a sentence
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Congrats! Well-deserved
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
With @raylaraja.bsky.social: Are small donors the solution to democracy’s problems? www.brookings.edu/articles/are...
brookings.edu
Are small donors the solution to democracy’s problems? | Brookings
Campaign finance regimes that increase the number of small donors may not be a solution to America's democracy woes.
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Could easily replace “academics” with “partisans” and explain a lot about politics
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Worth noting this is due mostly to people thinking he isn’t serious or disciplined enough to stick to one of his most sincere, central policy goals. Which is one of the many reasons these tariffs will only have negative effects
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Very cool stuff! I find similar results when I look at more traditional forms of engagement (think tank hiring and event participant patterns) in my book. Love the idea of podcasts as data. Looking forward to seeing more!
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Really cool stuff. Love when there’s a paper to cite for something I’ve long thought to be true
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Awesome, thanks!
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Love this idea. Any idea how to implement in R? Wasn’t able to find much with a quick look
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Need some parenting advice. My four year old has been rampaging through the house smashing things with a baseball bat. He finally agreed to pause for 90 days. My instinct is to lavishly praise him for his foresight and restraint. But what would you do?
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
“No other president would’ve done it” is the truest thing he’s ever said
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
I bounce back and forth (much like trump on tariffs) between “there is no plan” and “the plan is self-enrichment via market manipulation”. The truth is probably that trump is dumb and likes tariffs (no plan) + those around him see opportunities in that to make money
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
I agree. But also worth noting that it’s actually a large shift in today’s political terrain
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
I’m sure everyone will have a different favorite but “definition” really stands out to me
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Really interesting. Is there a paper associated with this?
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
Don’t forget Willy!
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
The obsession with tariffs actually makes a lot more sense if this was the ultimate goal
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Why can’t we have nice things (planned cap increases that don’t get derailed by pandemics or idiotic policies)?
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Reposted by Zack Albert
Dr. Susan Liebell @drsusanliebell.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Are you a PhD in Political Science? #polisky Have you signed the statement against basic changes to government and democracy? 1200 people have signed (ranging in many ideologies). If you wish to sign, go here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F....
docs.google.com
Political scientists' statement on recent events
Please use this form to add your signature to the following statement. Note that we are only soliciting signatures from individuals with PhDs in political science. We, the undersigned, are political ...
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Reposted by Zack Albert
taekulee.bsky.social @taekulee.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Political scientists: please consider signing, and sharing with other political scientists, this petition, which expresses urgent concerns about threats to the balance of powers in the U.S. today. Hundreds have already signed.
urldefense.proofpoint.com
Political scientists' statement on recent events
Please use this form to add your signature to the following statement. Note that we are only soliciting signatures from individuals with PhDs in political science. We, the undersigned, are political ...
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Reposted by Zack Albert
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 04/02/2025
The Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, a great org, asks individuals & orgs to sign their letter requesting Congress act to restore data that has been removed & ensure a similar purge does not reoccur. #EconSky #PolicySky #sociology #PoliSky docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
I should say I love working with pro editors and what they do is important. But we need to acknowledge an asymmetry here: while responsible outlets strive for objectivity, others are lying about "$50 million for Gaza condoms" and framing Trump's assault on the Constitution as a normal corrective
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
One thing that came into clearer focus writing this is how the editorial norm of objectivity fits uneasily with this moment. Striving for objectivity is good! But in practice it leads to contrived statements that understate reality (e.g. "clearly illegal" -> "appear to be illegal according to...")
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
New piece today in @theconversation.com on how the Project 2025 playbook is guiding Trump's early actions and how the Heritage Foundation is cashing in on decades of subsidizing the GOP (and Trump in particular) theconversation.com/trumps-admin...
theconversation.com
Trump’s administration seems chaotic, but he’s drawing directly from Project 2025 playbook
Many of Trump’s executive orders mirror plans laid out in Project 2025, a conservative policy plan developed in part by the Heritage Foundation.
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Not at all the most important part but note how the “$50 million on condoms to hamas” lie is suddenly “$100 million”
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Ok but why have colleagues been doing this in meetings for a decade?
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
The caricature that Republicans painted of Biden lawlessness isn’t even 1/10th of the actual lawlessness of the *first 9 days* of Trump 2.0
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
You’re right that it’s an awkward marriage of convenience. But in many ways it works… Heritage either already aligned with (e.g. immigration) or has given in on (e.g. trade) the things he actually cares about. And he’s carried their water on a lot of other things simply by appointing their ppl
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Violating 2, 3, 5 and 6 (at least)
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
TRUMP: “I’m sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with them. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
FML
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
I focused heavily on heritage in my forthcoming book and, while this is pretty gross, it doesn’t surprise me. They have long focused on shaping public opinion and popular perceptions, more so than any other think tank I examined. They are always advocating and only sometimes researching
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Opened up an article with this photo and my 3 year old said “poor buddy”. Summarized his whole Speakership in two words.
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
This but for my dream job (which happened to be my only offer).
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Zack Albert @zalbert.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
The Stanley cup
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